Different
by Nayru Elric
Summary: There was always something different about that girl. The way she looked at me was unlike any other. There was no way she could be the same, and yet I feel like she knows everything about me... Who is she? And why does she act that way? Is she out of this world – literally? (First fanfic.)
1. Arrival

**Author's Note: This is a story my friend and I came up with together! She told me the general idea, and I wrote it! ^_^ Hope you like! Please read and review! Thanks! (Yay! First time I've ever written about a boy main character! ^o^)**

Chapter 1: Arrival

It was 8:00 PM, and I was in my room on my computer like usual. As always, I was having that darn writer's block again, so I went to to watch anime. I didn't feel like watching Inuyasha, Hetalia, or anything new at the moment, so I decided to watch my favorite episode of my favorite TV show. As always, I got to the right page fast, and clicked on the button for Mega Video to upload, and then pressed play.

While the loading bar inched forward, I watched it, too excited and scared to go to a different page—in case it might change in any way. It was my favorite TV show, at my favorite episode, and I loved watching it almost every night!

* * *

><p>Edward Elric groaned.<p>

"Jeez Al, you don't have to go _hard_ on me, do you?" Edward asked hysterically as he rubbed his hurting automail. "I'm still not entirely used to this stuff, you know."

"I know, I'm sorry," his brother, Alphonse said with concern. "I didn't mean to hurt you."

"I'm not hurt!" Edward snapped quickly. "I'm just not entirely used to my new limbs yet!"

Al sighed. "Alright, alright," he said shooing his hands to the ground and looking out across the plains of Resembool.

There was a breeze traveling through the grass fields that Alphonse could not feel. The green trees stirred slightly, but Alphonse could not feel that either. The sun was also hot above the wisps of clouds, but still Alphonse could not feel it. Alphonse could not feel anything, but sadness. Sadness, longing, and fear of being trapped in this body of cold armor forever. Finally he looked away from the beautiful scenery even farther up the rising road to take his mind off of it, but only became even sadder as he looked on the very top of the hill.

There stood his house. The house he hadn't gone back to for almost a year now. He missed it. He missed many things, especially… But no matter how much it hurt to look there, what Alphonse wanted to do more than anything was go over to it. Just to see his house one more time…

Though there was no possible expression on his face, Edward could tell his brother was thinking about something.

"What is it?" Ed asked, though he was sure he already knew the answer.

"Huh? Oh, it's nothing," he said gazing back towards Ed. He tried not to show any signs of longing in his voice, but when he gazed back at their house's white sidings that said it all.

"Don't you worry, Al. I'll get your body back no matter what it takes. I just need some more time. But I promise I'll get it back." When Al continued staring at the top of the hill, Ed looked down to stare at his hands, seeing the two were completely different from each other. One was soft, warm, and squishy; the other was made of cold, grey, steel.

Edward clenched his fists and his shoulder gave a slight tingle. He looked up. "Right! Let's keep going!" Ed suddenly shouted, making Alphonse jump with a small clink. "The sooner I get this thing working correctly, the sooner I'll make that statement a reality!"

* * *

><p>I was still watching that loading bar.<p>

"Jeez, how long can it take?" I muttered to myself, but I started it anyway.

"Okay! Second episode, second episode!" I sang to myself as it started.

"Alchemy: the science of deconstruction and reconstruction…" the narrator started, I adjusted myself as it continued. "…but it is not an all-powerful art. You cannot make something out of nothing; that's the law of 'equivalent exchange', the basis of all alchemy. In accordance to this law there is taboo among Alchemists. Human transmutation is strictly forbidden. For what could equal the value of a human soul?" And then the theme song, Again, started. I mouthed along with the words, having no idea what they meant in English.

I smiled to myself as the theme ended, and switched through the whole beginning just to watch my favorite part at 6 minutes and 45 seconds…

* * *

><p>"Ow!"<p>

"We should stop, Ed!" Alphonse said. "Your automail can't take too much in one day! You need to rest!"

"Oh _stop_ it, Al!" Ed retorted but through compressed teeth. His eyes were shut, and he was on the ground clutching his right shoulder, and holding his left leg close.

"I'm not kidding! Maybe we should stop."

"I said I'm fine!" he shouted. "I promised myself one year, and that's what it's going to be! Now—"

"Ed! Al!" The pair turned around toward the Rockbell house to see their friend, Winry, on the balcony. "What are you guys—" She stared at Ed sitting in a ball on the ground. "Oh great, what did you guys do now? Were you being too hard on your automail again?" she asked, showing no sympathy toward him at all.

Edward just turned back around to grumble some curses to himself. No one else could hear.

"Anyways," she resumed looking away. "Granma says to come inside for some more adjustments. She says—"

"Not AGAIN!" Ed wailed coming back to his senses, though he still ached all over. "I've already had THREE tune-ups this morning!" he complained.

"Oh, don't be a baby!" Winry said putting her hands on the railing. "I'm sure this won't hurt quite as much as the LAST time," she said, peeking out of the corner of her eye for Ed's expression—which was utter fear.

"I'm sure it won't," Ed mumbled again.

"What was that?" Winry asked.

"Nothing," he said trying to look innocent. Winry scoffed.

"We'll be waiting," she called, walking back through the door she came out. It shuddered behind her.

"Erg…" Ed took a deep breath and tried to stand up.

"Er, Ed!" Al rushed to him.

"I'm fine, I'm fine." Ed wobbled, but stood on his own anyway. "We'd better go see what Granma wants," he said, taking a step. He stumbled back down.

"I'm not kidding, Ed! You shouldn't push yourself! …Do you need me to carry you?" Al asked sternly.

Edward glared at his brother but said nothing. Finally, sighing, he shook himself, waited for a moment longer, and let go of his arm able to stand. "I'm fine," he said again. "Now let's go." He walked up the steps with slight unbalance, and opened the front door.

Alphonse wondered why his brother always acted so tough on the outside, even when it meant taking much longer to do things alone.

* * *

><p>"Who are you?" Edward asked with an embarrassed and dull look on his face.<p>

"Oh! I'm so glad you asked!" answered the faceless being in front of him, who blended so well into the background it was hard to distinguish him from it. He gave off an aura of surprise, satisfaction, and happiness all at the same time as he said, "I am called by many names," and continued on. "I am the World. I am the Universe. I am God. I am Truth. I am All. I am One." He moved to point at Ed. "And, I am also, _you_," Truth said; Ed stood speechless. There was a sudden rush of wind behind, and a large creek. "You have dared to knock on the door," Edward dared not look behind him. "Now, the door is open."

Black hands shot out of the doorway. Ed tried to turn and run, but was seized. He squealed and screamed as the hands snatched his arms. Without much trouble, the hands pulled him into the portal.

"Quiet, child," Truth said. "This is what you wanted, isn't it?"

Edward still cried out, reaching to him—to god—but the Truth did nothing.

"I will show you, the Truth."

The door closed; my computer screen went out. I waited for a moment; nothing happened. I tried pressing the power button; nothing happened. Still I waited; still nothing.

I licked my lips and pushed my glasses up father on my nose. "What the hell?" I muttered to myself. Finally the screen came back on, but only the back light. I sighed in relief, but it wasn't the resuming window that came on screen. I stared. There was something else on it: the eye of the Truth. Then black hands shot out of my computer to seize _me._

"Ehah!" I gasped as the hands held my arms fast, pulling me closer to the eye—though even I don't even see how I could get much closer to my computer.

A void of darkness suddenly consumed me. I was in a never-ending hell, but I could not move for the black hands still held tight, suspending me there. I didn't know what was happening. All of a sudden, all I knew was darkness, and the hard ground.

* * *

><p>"Finally, THAT is over with," Ed growled rubbing his shoulder again as he and Alphonse walked back outside. They turned and stopped to gaze at the red sun for a second. Edward looked away. "We should keep going. I need to get this automail issue straightened out as soon as possible." He got in a battle stance.<p>

Alphonse looked at him and swayed. "Uh, brother?" he asked.

Ed sighed, but stood with his feet together again. "What is it, Al?" Edward asked putting his hands behind his hips, and closing his eyes. "Something's been bothering you all afternoon."

"Well it's just that—" Alphonse stopped.

"What?" Edward asked again.

"Well, I… I just wanted to see our house again… you know, before we…"

"Oh…" Edward was surprised. "Yeah, I kinda did too…" Ed glanced over at him. "So, you wanna go?" he asked looking at him as he crossed his arms.

"Uh… well if you don't want to…"

"Oh it's fine!" Edward laughed. "It's not like that 'Truth' guy is going to be there or anything!" He smiled as he nudged his brother. Al didn't move an inch; he had no idea what Ed was talking about. "Just a sec, I have to go get my coat." Ed twirled back through the front door. Alphonse still stared at the house on the hill.

"Alright, let's go." Edward rushed back out wearing his crimson coat, black undershirt and pants beneath it. He put his hands in his pockets, gazing at the dull dirt road that seemed to go on forever leading up to their house. Not knowing what to say to his brother, the two slowly traveled to the house they hadn't been to for almost a year.

As they scuffled farther, it got darker, and the trees grew quieter. The birds started to settle down, and the stars above began appearing, and before Ed knew it, they were standing on the edge of their house's yard.

Neither of them really knew what to do, so just stood there looking at the house. They wondered whether either of them challenged to go in or not, but didn't move from their position none the less. Suddenly Alphonse flinched and made a sound that startled Ed. He was staring at the porch. Ed noticed a bump on it, but nothing usual. Until he noticed it was breathing, and it was also a different color, texture, and shape than the rest of the wood scantlings.

Alphonse ran to it, but Edward stayed put—thinking it really _was_ Truth…

"Ed!" Al yelled making him jump again. "There's a _person_ on our porch!"

Ed blinked.

"What do you mean, 'there's a person on our porch?'" He said in a hoarse voice, thinking his brother was crazy.

"No, really, Ed! There's a person on the porch!" Alphonse shrieked. Edward didn't know if Al wanted him to go see, or stay where he was. "Come here, Ed!" Al screamed. Ed didn't see what was with his tone, but did as he was told, anyway.

He was right: there was a person there! Thoroughly astounded, Edward crept closer, and he and Alphonse bent down.

She was a girl—not very pretty in Edward's mind, but—had a kind face. She lay there with her mouth open slightly, and didn't look too far from a normal Amestrian. Only her hair a bit darker shade of blonde, and her face not quite as broad. She almost as though she had fallen asleep there, but didn't look too comfortable, so that probably wasn't the case… She didn't look too much taller, or older than either of them—if Alphonse had his real body, of course—but she did seem to have a serious look to her features next to the kind one…

Edward bent closer; her clothes were strange. It looked like she had something under her shirt covering her—

"What are you doing, Ed?" Alphonse finally asked.

Edward sprang up. "What? Oh, nothing," he said eyeing under her shirt again, but then thought better of it and shook his head, quickly looking away. "Are you done? Let's go." He hastily spun around and started walking back down the path again.

"Uh-h, Ed!"

"WHAT?"

Alphonse hesitated.

"We-we aren't just going to leave her here, are we?" he asked, looking between them. Ed shrugged.

"I don't see why not," he said plainly. Alphonse gave him a look, and picked the girl up easily.

"Well _I'm_ not leaving her," Alphonse stated, and walked back to the Rockbell house beside his brother. Edward rolled his eyes.

"You're too nice, Al."

If Alphonse had had a tongue at that moment he would have stuck it out at Ed.


	2. Resembool

Chapter 2: Resembool

I put my hands to my head and rubbed my eyes. My glasses weren't there anymore.

"Uhg…" I moaned to myself. I must've fallen asleep at the computer. "That was a weird dream," I told myself as I sat up, looking for my glasses. My hand froze as I reached for the table next to the bed; the bed wasn't mine. Nor were the white sheets that lay upon it. Or the small table next to it! Or the rest of the room! I didn't recognize anything. I didn't know what was what, or where I was. But somehow, this place reminded me of somewhere I _knew_ of, but had never been to before. Something, or somewhere I _loved_…

I couldn't remember. At the moment I couldn't remember anything, except my dream about being sucked into the eye of Truth…

I looked around, dazed. My head was still swimming, but from what, I couldn't remember. I hadn't hit my head, had I? And then been taken to the hospital? But the window to the left of my bed didn't show anything of a hospital-like location; there were trees. Much like the thin forest that made up my backyard, just not as many of them…

I didn't know what to do. 'Should I stay here? Or should I go and check where I am?' I kept asking myself. I was never much adventurous—even though year-of-the-Tigers are supposed to be brave—so I stayed where I was.

I heard a shout out of nowhere. It startled me, but the voice sounded like someone I knew as well…

'Maybe I'm just in another dream…' I thought, but soon after that, I heard another shout. This time I was able to understand what it said.

"Oh come on! It can't hurt _that_ much, can it?"

"Get away from me! You _and_ your wrench!"

I knew I was in a dream now. I could recognize that annoying voice—and the other low one—anywhere. I started trembling all over, afraid this dream was going to end. So I _still _stayed in the bed.

"Ed! Just get over here!" I knew that hollow voice too.

"No!" That shout was so loud it rung in my ears.

My door flew open. I nearly fainted and screamed.

Edward squirmed behind the wooden dresser that was at the foot of my bed. "Sh! I'm not here!" he told me. I stayed silent as told as Winry dashed in.

"Ed—Oh…" She stopped dead in her tracks. "Sorry, I didn't know you were… uh… How did you get here?" She eyeballed me with curiosity, as though she had never seen anyone else in this room before in her life.

I was too shocked to speak, so I said nothing. She waited in the awkward silence for an answer. When I still didn't talk, she just asked, "Uh, did you see a kid with two steel limbs run through here?"

I was about to look to the dresser, but decided not to tell her. I shook my head.

"Oh, okay… uh…" Winry slowly turned back around, and gave me one last confused glance before her pale blonde hair disappeared behind the wall between my room and the hallway. I heard her feet patter quickly on the floor of the hallway.

Ed shifted behind the dresser and slid back out. "Thanks," he huffed, resting his hands on his knees while rubbing one of them. I couldn't talk.

He looked exactly as he always did: gold hair tied back in a braid, slightly bored, but determined look on his face—which I noticed he hadn't gotten until he saw the Truth—golden eyes shifting around as if looking for something, anything, of interest. And of course, the two steel limbs that were in the place where his right arm, and left leg should've been. He wore that white T-shirt he always wore when I saw him when he was 12, and his black pants. But he looked different from anything I'd ever seen him in.

He saw me watching him.

"What?" he enquired, looking down at himself. "Oh." He held his arm out in front of him, and stared at it for a while. Then back at me seeing I was observing his every move. "Uh… are you new around here?" he asked, still looking to me.

I didn't know what Ed meant by 'new-around-here', but nodded anyway. (What I _really_ wanted to do was mull him to the ground with hugs and kisses, but I don't have to tell anyone that part… sh…)

"This is called automail. It's used in this country to help those who have lost body parts," he explained still holding his arm up.

I managed to barley whisper, "I know," but that was all.

Edward dropped his arm back to his side.

"Oh, okay…" He then made a wild turn of his whole body to look out the window. I didn't care about the blue birds that were chirping right outside the open window. I only studied Edward's actions. _Seeing_ him was enough, but _being_ here with him was a completely different thing.

Finally I had to ask. "Um… where exactly are we?" I half muttered.

"What?" He hadn't heard me. I could tell by the lost look on his face as he turned around to look at me he had been thinking about 'that thing'.

I cleared my throat, and tried to speak louder, but didn't want to in case I said something foolish that made me seem like an idiot. "Where are we?" I asked again, this time so much louder I almost scared myself. Ed didn't seem to notice.

"Uh… don't you remember anything? Like passing out on my front porch? Or getting kidnapped, or something?" he asked.

'"Passing out on his front porch"? "Getting kidnapped"? What the heck happened to me?' I didn't have any idea what he was talking about. "No…" I murmured in a small voice.

"Hm." Ed turned away, but then looked back and asked, "Where are you from?" Just hearing him ask me _anything_ nearly made me squeal.

"Uh…" I didn't know what to say, though. What was I supposed to say? 'I'm from another world, and somehow got sucked here when black hands shot out of my computer…' Yeah, that would sound good. He would KNOW I was nuts then.

"Uh… I… I can't remember…" I said thinking that was the worst possible answer, and I might as well've said I was from an alternate universe like I first thought to do.

He didn't seem to think I was crazy, but he didn't say anything, and unfortunately I couldn't read his mind.

"Well, that's okay," he said without emotion. Al rushed in.

"There you are big brother!" he declared. "Hey, Winry, Granny, Ed's over here!" Al bellowed so loud it hurt my ears. I loved, and hated my sensitive ears.

"Oh, damn…" Ed muttered. Al saw me just as suddenly as Winry had.

"Uh… hi," he greeted uneasily. "Sorry if we woke you, we didn't mean to—"

"Oh there you are!" Winry screamed holding her wrench in one hand, glaring at Ed. Then, fiercely, she turned it over to me. "I thought you said he wasn't in here!" she yelled.

"Uh…"

"Don't blame her, Winry! You know how big brother is!"

"What do you mean 'you know how big brother is'? What am I like?" Ed asked crossing his arms and tapping his metal fingers against his flesh impatiently.

"It doesn't matter!" Winry continued on yelling in her high, annoying voice. "You need another tune-up, and that's all that matters right now! If you just get the pain over with now, you won't have to feel it later!"

"Who says there has to be any pain?" When Winry didn't answer Edward looked abruptly over at me again. Winry and Al followed his eye. "Uh…"

"Sorry!" Al said. "You were out for a day, so we should probably take this outside," he said, giving Ed a glare.

"I'm not the one who was chasing people around the house like a mad person while holding a wrench," he growled, glaring back at the two of them.

"Oh well! You need a tune-up, so get your ass over here!" Winry pointed to the ground next to her with her wrench. Ed gave her a look, sighed, and skulked out of the room behind her. Al stayed.

"So," he said, not knowing how to start. "Where are you from?" he asked first.

"I can't remember," I told him so bluntly he didn't say anything for what seemed like a long time.

"Uh… what's your name, then?" he tried again. I didn't know if I should tell anyone my real name or not _in a different world_, so I lied.

"My name is Nayru," was the first Amestrian-sounding name I could think of at the moment—it was from my favorite video game series, too!

"Oh, hi, Nayru," Al welcomed, outstretching his hand toward me. I had never been into shaking people's hands, because what did it do? Whenever anyone stretched their hand out to me I hesitated, no matter who it was. (Unless, maybe, Edward Elric, of course.) I'd also always forget to tell them my name after they told me theirs, and my brother always made fun of me because of it.

A sudden thought shot through my head. What about my family? Did they know I was gone? Or—let me guess—did time somehow stop for them back on Earth?

I cast the thought away as Al asked, "What's your full name?"

The only last name I could think of besides my own was 'Elric', so I just said, "I can't remember that, either."

"Oh, okay. Do you… want to come out into the living room? You were out for a really long time, so you must be pretty stiff…"

"Yeah," I squeaked. "Just a second," I told him. He waited a moment, and then left the room. Like Ed, I got out of bed, and stared out the window wondering if this was_ real_. After I heard another wail from Ed in the other room, I got out of bed and walked slowly to the window.

The birds were singing, the fields were stirring, and the trees were swaying gently from side to side against the blue sky which was turning bright red. The white painted fence on the edge of the Rockbell property was stained a slightly copper color from the rain, though it looked like it had been painted over many times. Beyond it in the distance were the cow herds eating, and at the foot of the window outside the neighbors' chickens. They chased them around, since all of the birds had gotten out.

Resembool was as beautiful as I imagined it, and I wondered how anyone—like Ed and Al—could be such serious people when it was such a lovely place. But then again, I also knew they weren't what one would call the normal citizen of Resembool, Amestris, or anywhere for that matter.

I strode out of the room that was meant for patients going through automail surgery and rehabilitation, and looked both ways down the hall. I saw to the right there was bend around to another bright hallway, to the left in a corner there were doorways covered in shadows. And also to the left, right in front of me was a doorway to the main section of the house, where everyone sat examining Ed in his underwear. That's where I decided to go, though I didn't know how Ed would feel in his underwear near a total stranger—though I knew it would happen many times more.

"Ow! Dammit!" Edward cursed as Winry yanked vigorously on a screw on his leg.

"Alright, there you go, we're finally done," Mrs. Rockbell declared stepping back.

"'Finally' is right!" Edward yelled. "How many times do you have to make stupid adjustments?"

"That was the last one," Winry assured him, looking annoyed. "We're just making sure it's good enough before you go to East Headquarters next month, that's all."

"Yeah, yeah…" he muttered sitting up and grabbing his clothes again. I tried to slip into the room unnoticed, but failed horribly.

"Hi, Nayru," Alphonse greeted waving. I smiled at him, but didn't say anything. Everyone was staring at me, and it was making me feel uneasy.

"Ah, I didn't even know that these boys brought you here until just a moment ago," Mrs. Rockbell said, taking off her gloves and giving the two of them a stern look. Alphonse just put his hand behind his metal head, but Edward didn't see since he was still getting his clothes back on. Pinako Rockbell walked towards me with her hand extended. Like always, I hesitated, but took it and forgot to tell her my name back.

"My name is Pinako Rockbell," she introduced. "This is my granddaughter Winry." She pointed to Winry who waved with the wrench still in her hand and smiled. "And these are my son-in-laws, Edward and Alphonse." They didn't really pay me any mind. "We own this automail shop here in Resembool, so if you ever need anything of that sort, tell us. But we have a lot of customers, so you'll have to make an appointment first before you come."

"I know," was all I answered. Like everyone else, she stared at me, but then continued on like she hadn't heard. "So, what happened, you two?" the small woman turned around sharply to ask Ed and Al.

"When we went over to our house yesterday we just saw her laying on the porch unconscious, and we—I mean _I,_" he corrected himself looking briefly over to Ed. "Couldn't just leave her there, so I brought her back here," he said. Edward just shrugged as if saying, "That's how it happened."

"She says she doesn't remember anything, except her own name, though," Alphonse continued. Everyone glanced at me with a strange look for a split second, but I just pretended I was looking around the room interested in all of the automail equipment—because I was.

"Hm, that's strange," Mrs. Rockbell murmured, contemplating everything Alphonse had just told her for a moment, but then she snapped back from her thoughts. "Well, it's getting late, so I'd better start dinner," she said, clapping her hands. "Care to give me a hand, Winry?" Winry nodded, and rushed out of the room to put her wrench and other screws and bolts she'd brought into the living room away. Ed and Al sat there bored, but I kept on looking at every little thing in the house.

By the time I had rotated around the whole room, and looked carefully through everything there was to look at, I saw Ed and Al still sitting on the couch in the main room so walked over to awkwardly sit beside them on the ground. I would have felt too weird sitting next to EDWARD ELRIC, and drooli—I mean, watching his every movement because I loved how SMART he was in alchemy and such, but then I would have probably been considered a creeper, so I just sat with my back to Ed against the end of the couch.

I could feel both of their eyes watching me. I didn't know how to strike up a conversation with my idols, so I sat there dumbly.

"Uh…" Alarmed, I spun around to see it was Edward—and not Alphonse—watching me as he asked, "You… don't remember anything?"

I nearly melted away into the rug on the floor, but I was able to breathe a "Yes". He held his chin with his left hand and I could see him thinking, "_interesting…_"

Although it seemed like two seconds we sat there together saying nothing while Pinako and Winry prepared dinner, there was this one thought that scraped at my brain for every moment of it. "What happened to you and your brother?" I wanted to ask, even though I already knew the answer. (Hell yes I knew the answer. I've seen that episode… I dunno, 50 times now?) I just for some reason wanted to see if they would tell me. Or _how_ they would tell me, and what they would say, and anything and everything else. But I wanted to ask that question about as much as I didn't want to, so I just sat on the floor twiddling my thumbs until we could smell food.

Edward and Winry bickered with each other on the other side of the table the whole time we sat there. Saying, 'automail this', and 'automail that', but Al and Pinako stayed surprisingly quiet.

Once I finished my teriyaki chicken, Winry rushed off somewhere to work on something automail related, probably, and I didn't know what to do left with Ed and Al again as Pinako did the dishes. I thought I should probably help her, but then Den came out from Winry's room with sleepy eyes—because she was making a lot of racket doing whatever it was she was hammering. I pet her, and examined her mechanical leg since she didn't seem to mind too much.

While I was distracted by Den, somehow Ed had managed to leave the room without me noticing, and I heard him bothering Winry in the dark room down the hall.

"No, no, no! I _told_ you not to touch! Now go away!" she screamed, and there was a large thwack.

"OW! STOP HITTING ME WITH YOUR GODDAMN WRENCH!"

"Once you stop being annoying, I will!" she shouted back. Alphonse sighed; I couldn't take it anymore.

"Um… Alphonse, why are you empty?" I knew Al would be a lot more understanding than Ed if I asked him this, so it was the perfect moment while he was out of the room. I scratched behind Den's ears.

Alphonse was shocked, even if you couldn't see any expression in his face. I knew he would try and lie his way out of the situation somehow.

"U-u-uh… H-how did you know?" he stuttered. I saw Pinako listening in and Ed and Winry weren't fussing anymore—though I didn't know if they were listening in, too. This was starting to get bad.

"Um… I… I'm an Alkahestrist—kind of," I lied. (Though there was this one time when I was at the store with my older sister and I couldn't find my mom and brother, so I said, "I'll use the Qi in the Earth to find them." So I closed my eyes, and pretended to be looking for them as I walked forward. And then I said, "I think they are over this way!" just to be funny, so we went that way, and… THEY WERE THERE!)

"Oh, uh," Alphonse didn't know what to tell me—especially since he didn't know what Alkahestry was. I was tempted to say I already knew, but I didn't know what would happen when he told Ed what I'd said. I tried to keep that question in my head.

"Um… because…" Thankfully for him, Edward just burst through the doorway.

"Hey, Al! Look what I've stolen from Winry!" He snickered as he showed Alphonse her favorite—and seemed like only—wrench. I peered over their hands to see, but when Ed noticed Al was giving him silence, he stared at me like he was about to say something.


	3. Alchemy

Chapter 3: Alchemy

The next day was pretty much the same as the one before: awkward pauses, silence, fighting, working, and doing nothing as well, but I was occupied. I didn't know what to do first! I hadn't gotten to bed until _very_ late the night before, after dinner, but woke up so early the sun was just rising and I was the only one awake. Since I couldn't get back to sleep, and had already inspected the whole house, top to bottom—except Winry, Pinako, and Ed and Al's rooms—there wasn't much more for me to see there. But I still got out of bed and wandered around the house to see everything again. Even after stretching my legs for a half an hour, I still couldn't get back to bed. I thought about venturing as far as outside in the yard, and maybe even farther.

I took a great amount of reluctance before walking over to the door as my feet made an immense amount of noise patting on the wooden floors, and was scared half to death by the cold wet nose of Den who wanted to go outside too. When I opened the door and the cool morning air brushed my face, I knew I could not turn back in.

Den pushed past me to find a place to pee, but I wasn't sure which way to go first. I'd seen every inch of the Fullmetal Alchemist world top to bottom so many times I knew where everything was without a guide. I wanted to go over to the Elric house before they burned it down since I knew it was coming. But then I wondered what they'd do if they saw me over there… Until I concluded they didn't know that I knew _everything_ about them, so they would think I was just being curious and trying to find out how I gotten there in the first place. Though, truly, I actually didn't care. I'd stay in Amestris forever if I could decide to. Then I remembered my little slip-up last night…

'What did they think of me now?' I wondered. But they weren't awake, and the sun was only at the tip of the trees, so I decided to go down to their house anyway. I didn't have any shoes on because I hadn't had any when I was sucked into my computer—however the heck that happened—and the road was wet and muddy from the morning dew, but I didn't need any.

I followed the road to their house as if I had been there before. There wasn't a sound the whole way. Not birds, people, animals, nor swishing of the trees or grass. But as soon as I set on the road toward the Elric house, Den tailed right behind me as if I were one of her people. I was glad someone was coming with me, but I couldn't really tell if Den liked me that much. (Like Edward, dogs always trampled me. But I still liked them anyways.)

As we strolled farther I could hear Den's automail leg squeak a little, but he didn't pay it any mind and kept ambling forward, getting farther and farther ahead. I sighed; I didn't even know why. Even though I was in AMESTRIS, I'd met EDWARD ELRIC—and Alphonse too, but he's just a suit of armor with no expressions what-so-ever (don't tell him I said that)—AND I was going to _his house_ at the moment, I couldn't help but feel sad. Not for myself, but for Ed and Al. They had gone through so much, and would go through so much more, and yet… I could do nothing for them. Even when I was right there.

I wondered if Winry and Pinako felt the same way, or if they didn't feel as much like that as I because they were the ones who helped them every day…

I looked up to see the house getting slightly closer, but not much. Den was now at least 20 feet in front of me, but acted as though I wasn't there and kept trotting on.

Ever since I had gotten to Amestris I'd barely said a word to anyone, and then when I had, I'd just made a fool of myself as always. Ed and Al probably thought I was some psycho by now. I'm sure Al told Ed that I'd known about his body. But I hadn't seen them since I sent myself to bed last night, making sure I didn't say anything else dumb, so maybe they had already forgotten about it.

I approached the house cautiously as if it were a sleeping lion, so did Den. I was sure Den hadn't been there since Ed and Al had made that… thing that was supposed to be their mother, so I'm sure she was shocked when she could smell its remains buried in the yard. Sure enough, Den sniffled around the yard. When she must've found the spot, she scrunched her nose, yelping quietly, and returned to my side, but I was sure not to be loving.

I climbed up the few porch steps and opened the door; it squeaked. I was kind of surprised it was unlocked, but then I remembered the last time anyone came near here besides yesterday was Roy and Riza when they were looking for Ed and Al. Only to find…

That brought up a thought, what _about_ Roy and Riza? Would I get to meet them too? I remembered hearing Winry yelling at Ed about getting his automail sorted out before he went to East HQ to become a State Alchemist—

Hold on, that brought up something else. What the hell happened to Ed's alchemy? I thought about it for a second trying to stare past the darkness that aligned the doorway, and then remembered that too. Ed didn't use his alchemy again until his limbs were in full working order, so even he hadn't preformed for a while. As for Al, who knows…? I knew he couldn't transmute without a circle yet, but… Well, it didn't really matter. I took a step into the dusty house, leaving muddy tracks behind me. The dust on the floor stuck to my feet.

Den shadowed me quietly as if listening for any life inside the house, expecting to see someone she knew. I got sad because I knew there was no one living here anymore.

Right as I walked in, the sun gleamed from above the trees, and I could see inside the house much better. There were three photos on the table directly in front of the door… I wanted to pick one of them in particular up, but also didn't want to disturb the dust any more than Den and I already had. I just stared. There they were: the four of them. The only photo with the four of them. All four Elric's smiling, happy, except, Hoenheim…

I felt my hand shaking as it reached for the photo ignoring my brain that told me not to touch. I grasped the side of the frame. The dust that had gathered on it swirled around Den as I felt even sadder, but when the dust went in her nose the dog sneezed which made my hand shudder, and let go of the picture. I heard a loud crack as it hit the ground, but did not see any glass on the floor. I picked up the photo again, seeing it was now fractured across the front. Feeling sick to my stomach, I looked quickly over to Den, who just wagged her tail at me as I did.

I sighed again and set the photo back on the table next to the others. Then I looked for a light somewhere, anywhere, to turn on so I could travel deeper in the house without tripping over Den, thinking it was the dead body of the thing Ed and Al made. But even the lights I _did_ find didn't work anymore.

I groped my way feeling every wall for a switch somewhere, and jiggled all of them. Finally I realized windows were invented for a reason, and tore the blankets down that were covering the windows, knowing they were there to block peepers.

All of the dust powders whooshed around Den and I as I ripped every cloth off of every window, making both of us sneeze horribly, but at least we could see.

I saw nothing left in the kitchen. All of the cupboards were cleaned out, and there were nothing except pictures, frames, and old blankets and couches in the living room. Even the rooms were basically empty. Only beds, bedside tables, dressers, and nothing else.

Since I didn't want to go back to the Rockbells' just yet, I looked through every room, down every hall, and up every staircase even though there wasn't much to see, until I found the door leading to the basement. I wasn't sure if there were any lights down there, and Den just seemed to follow me aimlessly wherever I wanted to go since I was the only other being in the house. I sucked back my fear of the dark, Pride, and many other things, and walked ever so slowly down the stairs with my trembling hands on the railing.

Just the walk down the stairs took hours as it got darker… and darker… quieter… and quieter… dustier… and mustier, and even Den seemed to be hesitant to go down.

I reached the bottom, and heard the sound of air running through the empty place. I was frightened to say the least, but I stayed close to Den—who also stayed close to me—and was able to find a light. I jiggled the switch; nothing. I tried the one next to it, success! But I screamed as soon I saw the floor. Den jumped back ready to run as I did so, but seeing there was nothing _living_ in the room, stayed put—which I was glad for.

I had totally forgotten how Roy had known Ed and Al tried human transmutation: there was a giant splotch of blood in the very center of the study room, and around it was the circle with old runes etched in neatly. Beside the circle and the lake of blood, there lay another pool of red. I knew whose blood that was. And as I suddenly realized where I was, and what had happened in this very room, in this very place, in this very world only a year ago. My legs felt rather numb, and wobbly. My head began to spin, and my eyes started to water, and as I sank to my knees amidst all of that blood, I finally realized how sad it all really was, as tears ran down my cheeks that I could not stop from coming…

* * *

><p>Ed yawned, but could not sleep. His automail was creaking and aching which made that impossible.<p>

Alphonse wasn't in the room at the moment, but was probably at some place to pass the endless hours of nighttime.

He looked around. There was no way he could get back to sleep with this pain, so the only thing to do was walk it off. Gasping as he did so, Edward sat up trying not to curl into a ball from the immense pain, but stood up so fast he teetered for a moment and let out a groan. Catching his balance, he half limped to the door, and extended his not-hurting left arm toward the gold handle. The door opened; the house was hushed. There was no sound from anything.

Not even Den's creaking automail was anywhere to be heard or seen. He looked everywhere, but she wasn't in Winry or Pinako's room either. While looking for Den, Edward also noticed that that girl they found on their porch was gone, too. He thought her name was… Nelru? …Or something… he wasn't really paying attention when Al had told everyone, or when she had told everyone. And besides, what had she said to Al that made him give Ed the silent act? Well, whatever it was, it seemed to shock him, so Ed didn't know whether to like this girl or not. And how had she gotten on their porch anyway? What was it she wasn't telling him or anyone?

Not like he had talked to her much, anyways, but when he had, she seemed so _very_ interest in him. She'd also seemed really interested in everything else in the house. Like she either knew what it was, or she had never seen anything like it… Or maybe even both.

He walked outside. There wasn't a sound out there either. It was still pretty early, too… Ed paced around the whole Rockbell property, but still no sign of Den or the girl. Where could they have gone? He scratched his chin.

'Where _could_ they have gone?' The thought struck him: the girl probably went to his house with Den following, to see how she had gotten there… What would he do if she had gone _into_ his house? She'd see how abandoned and dirty it was, and… the blood on the floor still had to be there… Would she ask him about it? What would she think? Would she know, just as Roy had, what had happened there? …Edward didn't have an answer, and didn't really want one either. But then he thought she probably wouldn't know what was on the ground if she could barely even remember her own name, and wouldn't've gone downstairs or in the whole house, anyways…

* * *

><p>I rubbed my eyes as I shut the front door with a loud snap. It startled Den slightly, but I wasn't scared until I heard footsteps behind me. I baulked for a second, but Den was wagging his tail at the visitor, so I turned around with tense shoulders. I released them to see a face I knew. I didn't know if he made me feel more secure or nervous, but I was glad he was there. Even if he was giving me a foul look as he saw all of the curtains that had been in the windows were gone, or ripped in half. Then he noticed my eyes were red, and that my hands were still shaking on the door handle.<p>

"Wh-what did you see in there…?" he asked in a quavering voice.

I stood frozen with my hand magnetized to the door handle, until I knew that even if I told Ed that I had seen the blood on the floor he probably wouldn't suspect me to know what it was.

"Uh-uh… I saw downstairs—if that's what you mean," I tried to say in a confident voice. Ed just stared at the ground as if he knew I knew. I felt really guilty all of sudden. I felt as though I shouldn't've gone into the house, and I shouldn't be here in Amestris just to cause Ed and Al more pain and trouble, and I _definitely_ shouldn't want to stay here for the only reason I wanted to…

Edward didn't ask if I knew what it was, but he turned around holding his arm to his side and called Den to follow. Den looked at me, but then followed her real master down the path to her home.

I felt tears welding in my eyes again. 'No! You are not going to cry!' I told myself. 'You can't cry, because then he will know you know… even though that's what you want…'

I wiped my eyes fiercely, and followed Ed and Den home.

* * *

><p>"And then this is to shine all of our metal pieces once we're done welding them!" Winry explained holding a shin guard in my face. "But I don't usually do that part, Granma does…" She gazed at all of the screws, bolts, and other tiny and large metal pieces on her desk. Her thoughts on her customers awaiting their orders. Waking from her stupor, she quickly jumped across to grab the wrench that was next to me. "I've just thought of something! HEY, GRANDMA!" she yelled making my ears hurt again. She rushed out of the room to go find Mrs. Rockbell.<p>

Feeling awkward left in her room all by myself, I tottered out of the crowded dark place, and into the hallway. I walked straight forward to the sunny windows at the other end of the hallway, and looked out one of them. I didn't have much time to watch the grass sway, because I heard a bong and another loud annoying shriek outside.

"HEY! YOU! DON'T MESS UP MY AUTOMAIL! YOU KNOW HOW HARD I WORKED ON THAT!"

"HELL, IF IT'S HALF AS HARD AS YOU THROW A WRENCH I'D BE SURPRISED!"

I rushed over to a closer window to see what Ed and Winry were fighting about _now_.

"Nngh, for real! You could try acting more like a girl and less like a gear-head," Ed complained, his voice muffled by the window. He held his head where Winry's wrench had whacked him.

"If you think I'm a gear-head that's fine, but you'd better get used to it!" Winry hollered putting one hand on her chest as she continued. "Cause as long as you're wearing _my_ automail you're stuck with this 'gear-head' whether you like it or not!"

Ed clocked around to give her a panicked and terrified gaze. Alphonse giggled behind his back, and so did I.

* * *

><p>"So, Ed, what did you do to your automail today?" Pinako asked; I listened.<p>

"He ruined it! That's what!" Winry yelled with her mouth full of pork as pointed her knife at him.

"I put it back the way it was when I was done, didn't I?" he asked sarcastically, rolling his eyes. He avoided her and everyone else's eyes at the table while picking at his food.

"Did you transmute your automail with alchemy?" Pinako said, raising an eyebrow. "I didn't see a circle out there, or did you wipe it away?" she asked.

"Oh, you see I don't need a circle to transmute… anymore, anyways." Ed explained, now looking at her.

"And why is that?" she asked again, but Ed didn't answer her because of what he had seen there, which he spoke to no one about—not even Al. Since I could tell Winry, or Pinako, or someone was going to bother him until he answered them, I decided to answer for him trying to make up for all of the bad thoughts and feelings I'd brought up in the last day.

"It's because the hands put together in front of you symbolizes a circle, and Ed makes up for the runes himself by what he knows about alchemy," I informed the table. They were impressed, and stared at me with mouths open. I looked back down at my plate. "It's just something I picked up," I murmured to myself feeling kind of big-headed.

"No it isn't!" Al assured me. "That isn't something that even the advanced Alchemist would know! How do you know that?" Alphonse inquired hysterically, now staring at me even closer along of the others.

"Uh… uh… I know a little Alkahestry…" I said quickly, dropping my fork, and shaking my head and hands frantically, even though no one knew what that was. "I… I only know how to read the Dragon's Pulse in the Earth—sometimes—that's all!" They still gaped at me.

"Uh, what's that?" Winry asked ignoring her dinner.

"Um… it's the pulse of the Earth that flows to every living thing, giving it energy."

None spoke.

"Hm. It sounds like you know a lot about alchemy," Ed concluded, finally looking away from me. Everyone else followed in his instance, and picked at their food again.

"Uh… well, I know a _little_, but not _too_ much…" I said modestly.

"You seem to know more than Winry, at least. And she knows everything," Ed added. Winry stuck her tongue out at him.

"Can you perform any alchemy?" Ed asked looking at me again.

"Uh, no… or at least, I don't think so…" He raised an eyebrow. "Well, you see, the thing is I've never tried…" I said.

"Well, what do you know?" Ed asked.

I blinked not knowing where to start.

"I know the law of equivalent exchange—that something cannot be gained without giving something of equal value in return—and the one taboo for Alchemists," everyone seemed to duck their heads as I said that one, so I didn't continue on with it. "And the law of conservation of mass, and—" everything that I had set up to say out loud just disappeared in my brain. Embarrassed, I turned red. "I know a lot more, but there's just too much to be able to say…" I squeaked.

Ed resumed back to his food, but didn't look at all disappointed or annoyed. "That's fine," he said. "I know there's a lot—too much almost. But how about before we go to East Headquarters I test you on a little alchemy myself?" He didn't look at me as me said this, almost as if he didn't want to do it.

It was a dream come true! My idol—and Al—teaching me to preform alchemy right here in Amestris! All I did was nod so I didn't squeal and smother Ed with hugs. But then Ed said, "Hey, Al, time to go to the house one last time." Al also nodded, and I knew what he meant…


	4. The Water Alchemist

Chapter 4: The Water Alchemist

"Just draw a circle," Ed explained pressing a stick into the ground making a perfectly round circle in front of my feet. "It's easy!"

I tried again and gave a groan of frustration as I shoved my stick into the ground but only managed to make a half-oval half-circle shape. "I can't do it," I said, chucking my stick away. I still couldn't see how Edward was so happy when he'd burned his own house down the day before. At least I hadn't gone with him… But how was he so happy? In the anime I always thought he was depressed about it for weeks. Or maybe that was just Winry's reaction.

"Oh, come on! You can't draw a circle?" he laughed. I tried not to blush too much as I came back from my thoughts.

"It's not drawing a circle that's the problem," I said. "It's drawing a _perfect_ circle. How do you guys do that?" I asked incredulously. (I had always wondered how they did that.)

"We don't draw '_perfect_' circles. We just draw goddamn circles!"

"That is not true! You and Al are always able to draw a perfect circle no matter what! Even when you—" I stopped myself before I said something stupid, knowing what I was thinking.

"Even when I what?" Ed asked not seeming at all skeptical but I was panicked.

"Uh…"

"And besides, how would you know? You've only been here for two days—now almost three."

"Um… well, I… it's just what I assumed. From what I picked up off of your pulse with my Qi, I mean," I added, lying deeply. Ed scoffed.

"Look," he started. "I know you're hiding something, and I'd ask you what but I know there are some things in their life that people don't like to talk about." He paused for a moment, stopping himself from gripping his automail. "So I get that part."

He paused again as if waiting for me to scream, "No you don't! You don't know what it's like!" like everyone always did at him—or in any other story—but I remained silent. I wanted more than anything to tell him I knew about what he'd done and I didn't care. I was here to help him. But then that would give me away and what would I say when he asked me how I knew about him? I couldn't think about this much longer though, because then Ed continued my lesson.

"So, however you know so much about alchemy, this country, and somehow you know about… me and Al so much, I don't care." I stared inquiringly at him.

"Did Alphonse say anything to you?"

"Well, no. But I know that you said something," he said. I now felt surprisingly pretty calm and stable talking around everyone from this world, though I still didn't want to talk about… _that_.

"Anyways, how about I just get you a glove or something you can wear so you don't have to draw a circle?" he asked.

"But it's not like I'm going to become a State Alchemist or—" Ed interrupted me.

"Why not? And besides no one said anything about becoming a State Alchemist. Just an Alchemist, that's all."

I noticed he said, "That's all" as if it were so… _casual_. But to me, it was so alien…

"That's true…" I said vaguely. "But if I'm not going to use my alchemy—if I can even preform it—to serve this country, then what would I do with my ability?" I asked even though I knew that all of the State Alchemists were just pawns for the homunculi. (But Ed didn't even know that yet, so sorry for spoiling it for those of you who haven't watched it.)

"Well I don't know, but you should at least try!" Ed said.

"Okay… after the circle, then what?" I asked.

"Well you still haven't drawn a circle. I'll just draw it for you." He outstretched right in front of me, his back was right against my face. As he drew his 'perfect' circles—one inside the other—I got a whiff of his shirt. Hearing me inhale Ed withdrew after drawing his circle, looking at me strangely.

"Di… did you just _sniff_ me?" he asked. Even I didn't know why I did it…

"Yes…" I answered slowly, not knowing what else to say.

"…Why?" he finally asked as I was thankful there was no one else around to hear or see us.

"I… I don't know…" I responded shrugging my shoulders, trying to keep a straight face but let slip one chortle. Ed still stared. All of a sudden Ed's face twisted into a smile, and he started chuckling with his hands clasped over his mouth. Then he broke into a solid laugh and bent over with his hands on his knees gasping for breath. I couldn't help myself; I snickered too and I started laughing so hard my stomach hurt. I panted with pain, but couldn't catch my breath, so just laughed even harder. By this point, Ed was already on the ground and I followed right next to him.

Once all of the afterward giggles were over, Ed turned on his side to face me next to him on the ground.

"That's the hardest I've laughed in a long time," Ed told me still chuckling. I blushed, but Ed must have seen me and he stopped the giggles at once. I felt saddened by this but tried not to show it in my face. Ed stood back up and cleared his throat.

"W-we should continue. Otherwise you'll never learn alchemy," Ed said as he extended his hand down to me. I tried not to think about taking it too long and grabbed the metal fingers rather hard as he helped me up. I let go immediately after I caught my balance to ensure I wasn't acting strangely while Ed cleared his throat again.

"Anyways, this is how you draw the runes in the circle," he resumed drawing two squares into one of the many example circles he had drawn for demonstration earlier. I copied easily once he handed me the stick.

"And now, all you have to do is think of what you want to make in your mind, put your hands to the circle, and make it," he said as he clapped his hands together and pressed them to the ground. A blue light emitted, and the ground was bent into the shape of a flashy throne. "Well, you won't be able to do that on your first try, but you get what I mean," he said eyeing the tall chair with admiration for his own taste in style. I snickered a little at the sight of it. I always knew Ed liked making showy designs for his transmutations.

"So, most soil is comprised of inorganic compounds of Silicon, Oxygen, Potassium, Aluminum, Sodium, Calcium, Magnesium, Iron, Phosphorus, and Carbon with a small percentage of organic compounds of Carbon, Hydrogen, Oxygen, Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Sulfur," Ed told me. I barely caught what he was saying. "All you have to do is think 'comprehension', 'deconstruction', and 'reconstruction', and then you should have whatever it is you are trying to make. Let's start with something simple, like… the shape of a pen or something else small."

I blinked. "What?" I croaked.

"What?" Ed repeated. "Don't you know what elements are?"

"Yes, I know what elements are but I just don't know and remember everything about _all_ 118 of them," I said breathlessly.

Giving me a look of confusion Ed asked, "There aren't 118 elements—that are known, anyway. There are only 74." Suddenly I remembered this was Amestris, not Earth—though I don't see how I forgot.

"But I do suspect there are many more than those we've recorded, and your guess sounds about right. Though I don't see how you could guess so close to the right number if you don't even know that much about the Periodic Table," he said with his arms crossed and eyes closed. "That has something to do with your secret, doesn't it?" he asked, arms still crossed across his white shirt.

I didn't want to lie any more than I had to. "Yeah," I whispered looking away.

"Well, it doesn't really matter how you know so much about _everything_ it seems—except for drawing a circle and what elements are. I'm just here to teach you alchemy. If you want, that is."

"Of course I want to!" I sputtered a little loudly.

"Well, do you know what Silicon, Oxygen, Potass—?"

"I kind of know what they are, but not really…"

"I'm not sure myself how to explain what they are… Let's just say bottom line they are solids that make up soil. Now try transmuting something!" Ed urged impatiently.

I took a deep breath and told myself that even if I didn't succeed it didn't matter, especially from the very little information I was going on. I stood straight, knelt down to the circle and slammed my hands on it. Thinking of all of the elements the dirt under my palms was made of though I couldn't quite remember all of them. I thought about how to strip down every little element, every little particle, and bend it to the shape of a solid rock rod—I wasn't going to try to make anything, really, the FIRST time. I closed my eyes. When I peeked back through them, nothing had changed. I sighed.

'I knew I couldn't do it,' I thought. 'I need more experience. This isn't something people usually learn like the piano.'

"Here, just try again," Ed said, though not really comforting my failure. I gave him a reproachful look as though saying, "Don't encourage me if it isn't going to work!" and he answered, "Look, NO ONE gets it the first time. Just try again."

I gave the ground a determined stare and pushed my palms back there once more, this time watching the ground with my eyes open as I thought of all the elements that made up dirt.

It was like it was all animated before me. Blue lightning rods danced in front of me for a moment and the ground coughed out a rocky rod with a point on one end like a knife. I watched it. It was… _real!_ I slowly took my hands off of the circle and touched the knife. It was solid! Though it did have many rough edges, I didn't care. I was _real_, it was sitting right in front of me, and _I_ made it! That's all that mattered.

"Wow." Ed tried to suppress a smile. "That's pretty good," he said reaching for the rocky knife in my hands. He bent it with his metal hand and with little trouble it snapped right in half. I chocked on my own words of anger and distress.

"What are you doing?" I wanted to yell, though I knew.

"You just need to make your transmutations more compact with themselves. The matter is too loose, so it can therefore break and bend really easily," he explained.

"Yeah, I thought so," I said.

"Well, here, I'll help you." He moved behind me to get to some soil we hadn't touched yet. I couldn't help but smile to myself as I heard him say those words.

'I'll help you'… No one had ever said that to me before in my life…

* * *

><p>'That girl is pretty good at alchemy…' Ed thought to himself on the train. She was sitting right next to him. 'It's only been a month and she's already better than most other Alchemists I know besides Al…' He glanced over to her sleeping body, yawning himself.<p>

'Maybe she _could_ become a State Alchemist…'

Ed wondered. He never thought a foreigner who had never tried alchemy before could be so devoted to an art that she had never seen and maybe even possibly become a State Alchemist. He only told her that at first to make her feel good—though he didn't even know why—but now… she may actually have a chance.

The three of them were a strange sight to see; people stared as they passed by their car. The suit of armor who never needed food or sleep, and the short kid who wore a red coat to match his huge temper sat there in the train car. Except, unusually, he wasn't sitting alone. There was a girl his age sleeping soundly right next to him. Her eyes were hidden under her long blonde hair and her clothes looked very high-end, yet casual enough to be traveling in one of the normal train cars. She slept better than anyone Ed had ever seen but wasn't at all like anyone he'd ever known.

She whispered something to herself in her sleep as she held her new silvery-white gloves which had blue alchemic symbols inscribed into them. They helped her preform the type of alchemy she was best at. Ed couldn't quite make out what she said, but then he heard her whisper what sounded like the same thing she had before. "No, Ed…"

Surprised, Edward looked over to Alphonse to see if he had any idea why she did such a thing but his brother was staring out the window lost in thought, paying no mind to anything that was going on around him.

Finally Ed asked, "Hey Al, did you hear what she said?" Alphonse turned with a start and shook his head. "She whispered _my name_…" Ed told him.

"No she didn't. You're just imagining things, brother," Al whispered. "And talk quieter, Nayru's sleeping," he said watching Ed.

"Well, she did, though you don't have to believe me," Ed informed, turning his back to both of theirs and crossing his arms like always.

"Her name is Nayru, brother," Al said a little annoyed, though Nayru herself had never said anything about it. "You should start calling her by it." Ed never called her by her 'name'.

"I know," Ed said. "But I don't like calling her that."

"Why not? That's her name, isn't it?"

"I wouldn't be so sure," Ed said, still staring into the train's halls as the busy people passed by.

"What do you mean? She isn't telling us her real name?"

"Well, maybe not." Ed twisted his whole body to face Nayru, and Al turned back to the blackness of night on the other side of the window. Ed looked past her sleeping figure to the window and saw a couple twinkling city lights in the distance. They were from East City. They were close. But then Ed noticed that the lights were already going off and dawn was arising.

'Is it really that late…?' Ed asked himself and before he could think about anything for long, he drifted off to sleep.

* * *

><p>I wasn't allowed in the room while other Alchemists were testing, none were, but I knew Ed would pass with points to spare. As for me, however, I had no idea. Would I pass? Would <em>I<em> get to become a State Alchemist? I just had no idea.

I paced back and forth as I heard gasps in the arena. What if I didn't pass? Then would I be stuck with the giant suit of armor all day while Ed got to go murder people? …Well, aside from that part I'd much rather be stuck with Ed.

I went through my routine one last time in my head as Ed came through the grand door leading to the arena with a bewildered look which made me feel even more nervous. "The—the Führer cut my spear in half," Ed complained. "I didn't even see him swipe _or_ draw his sword and he cut my spear in half!"

I turned white. I had totally forgotten about that part. The Führer was Wrath, but no one except his son, Pride, and the other homunculi knew that. Then I also remembered after slicing Ed's spear in half he walked off in the other direction laughing quietly to himself. So didn't have to worry about him slicing me to pieces as I tested.

"You are next, Miss," A guard announced after pushing the giant wood door open. He gave Ed a suspicious look for his performance as I pulled on my fingerless gloves and headed through the door shaking horribly. My legs nearly gave in under me as I marched as briskly as I could to the center of the testing arena.

'It's just like a piano recital,' I told myself. 'Just you are being tested, that's all. And there's a winner, and—' I decided to stop there before I made myself even more nervous than I already was.

"Another 12-year-old?" I heard someone enquire. I forced all the nerve out of me at once and stopped shaking as I realized I knew that voice. I quickly glanced up to the balcony above me and saw Colonel Mustang sitting, arms crossed, staring down on me with dismay. He never did really like children much, especially when they were trying to get into the military. Though he was considered young himself by many of his superiors.

I hadn't seen him earlier in front of East HQ as Ed had this morning while I was snoozing, so he had no idea who I was or what I was doing here.

I cleared my throat and once given the word clapped my hands together. A bluish-greenish light appeared in between. I took water particles around my hands out of the air and made them circle all around me. I clapped my hands again and pressed them to the floor to make a large basin. Once I directed all of the H2O into it, none of the water sparkles touching me the whole time, I stood panting nervously like an idiot. Some nodded in approval, but most just observed. Their eyes told me, "Nice, but nothing new there…" I bowed to them, and left without a word.

As soon as I came back into the hall and the next Alchemist—who also looked very young, in his 20's, probably—went in I slumped on the wall still panting. I slipped off my half-fingered gloves and folded them so the blue symbols on the back of the hands weren't facing each other. I gripped them hard. After staring at my hands for a long time I finally got to my feet and walked over to the waiting area just as the other Alchemist who went in after me came out. Some of them looked even more exhausted than me.

"How did you do?" I was surprised Ed was asking this question—not Al—but answered immediately all the same.

"I sucked," I said plainly, sitting next to him. And then realizing where I had sat down without even noticing. I scooted somewhat the opposite way, though I _wanted_ to sit next him. Ed didn't even seem to notice but I turned a little red anyways.

"Why do you say that?" he snorted.

"Well no one said anything once I was done, so…" Though I wanted to add, "And compared to you I don't see why anyone would say anything after that lame performance," but bit my tongue as always.

"I'm sure the military won't let a talented young Alchemist like you slip right past their fingers so easily," Ed said making me feel a lot better, and as always, I blushed so red I'm sure I saw some of the other Alchemists were watching me. Thankfully for me, Ed didn't see—again.

* * *

><p>"Well?" Al asked as Ed came out of Colonel Mustang's office.<p>

"'Well' what, Al?" Ed asked him holding a piece of paper in one of his hands. "Obviously I got in if I was summoned to the Colonel's office!" Ed crowed. Though I failed the test I couldn't help but feel happy that Edward got in. Even when I knew it was coming.

Ed could still see a sad look on my face. Giving me a sympathetic look he wondered to himself how he ever thought she could actually have gotten in when she was against an Alchemist who didn't even need a transmutation circle to transmute.

'I wish I could transmute without a transmutation circle too…' I thought, though I knew it was a foolish thing to think. 'I wish I could transmute without a transmutation circle, so I could also be a State Alchemist.' Now I'd just be stuck with Al most of the time—the giant hunk of metal who could show no emotions (my sincere apologies to Alphonse Elric)—most of my day, never doing anything exciting. I sighed.

"Congratulations," I commended, reaching my hand to Ed.

Ed stared at it, wondering why I was being so formal but took it anyways. Feeling a sudden urge of guilt, pity, and understanding, Edward turned straight around and strolled right back into the Colonel's office.

"Nayru,"—that was the first time I ever heard Ed speak my 'name'—"follow me." He beckoned his hand. I did so without hesitation.

"Back again already, are we?" Mustang asked when saw me and raised his eyebrows.

'He sounds like Truth when Ed returns to the portal to exchange his arm…' I thought, giggling madly to myself in my head.

"What's this?" Mustang inquired. "The other young Alchemist?" He stared at me, but with bored eyes. Seeing the look on Ed's determined face, he leaned his chin on his hand and groaned. "Don't tell me you want her to become a State Alchemist too or _you_ aren't going to join. Besides, I thought you'd try to make that engineering-otaku friend of yours one instead not… who is she anyway?"

"I'd do nothing of the sort. I know the only way to be a State Alchemist is to successfully pass the exam," Ed said. I still no idea what he was thinking.

"Then what do you want?" asked Mustang impatiently.

"Well, I was thinking of getting an assistant but they'd have to be, urk, small and nimble—small _and_ nimble,"—Ed emphasized the 'and' to ensure no one was just paying attention to the 'small' part—"—like me to be able to help me with whatever I need. Unlike my brother, he's kind of… _big_ to be my personal assistant and much too clammy. Not to mention he would draw way too much attention on a stealth mission." Edward watched Mustang's face with his arms crossed.

He was unmoved, but said, "Go on."

"Alright, I'm just going to ask. Can she be my assistant?" I didn't think I heard right. Waiting for Mustang to answer a totally different question I stood quietly, so did the others.

Mustang sat back up, took a deep breath, and muttered, "I don't see why not," as he slid open a drawer in his desk and took out a pen reaching for Ed's certificate. I wasn't so sure this wasn't a dream anymore. Why would Ed do this for me? He wasn't that nice! …So why me?

Mustang scribbled something on the thin paper and handed it back to Ed, who handed it to me.

I read right under the Führer's signature. "…and to be accompanied by his assistant Alchemist, _The Water Alchemist_."


	5. Mission One

Chapter 5: Mission One

I never knew what Ed did right after he got his State license but now I do.

I didn't know how _boring_ it would be to be Ed's assistant some of the time. All we did was research human transmutation in the library most days. Even though reading books on alchemy for hours on end was hell—especially when I barely knew what they were saying—Edward made those endless hours much better.

He and I could joke around in a way my sister and I always did so comfortably and sarcastically. We could even make jokes about people or things in alchemy or anything else, and talk to one another as if we had known each other our whole lives! Even when we'd read for hours, find nothing, go to the next stack of books and still find nothing, my short chats with Edward would keep the day vivid and interesting.

Al was always off some quiet place in the library WAY away from us. So we could talk as loud as we wanted to, especially since the two of us were State Alchemists—well, I was a State Alchemist's assistant but you get what I mean.

The first two weeks that's all that we did, until I realized something.

"Hey, Ed?" He looked up from a huge book on alchemy that had a blue cover and transmutation circle with five crimson points around the two lions in the center that looked mixed with the circles on my gloves and the circle in the Xerxes ruins. 'If only Ed knew the answer was right there in front of him…' I thought, but then remembered where I was and what I had been thinking and asked, "Don't you think that the _records_ section would be more likely to have _records_ on the Philosopher's Stone?"

Ed blinked and then opened his mouth as if to say something.

"That… might be true." He snapped the blue book shut. "Let's go ask the librarian." He stood up. It was kind of funny hearing Ed say the word 'librarian'…

I thought about telling Ed about the national transmutation circle, the Xerxes ruins and everything else, but then I wondered what that would do to the constant flow or time and events in the universe. Like the Alchemists—but mostly Izumi Curtis—said, "One is all, all is one." But then I wondered how Ed _had_ found the Stone in Lior.

Ed and I reached the front desk and asked the women standing there, "Where are the military records?"

She gave us a disapproving look over her glasses—along with everyone else since the whole city could hear us laughing about that-guy's haircut—and pointed to another information desk. Her blue eyes seemed to penetrate me as she said, "I don't know. Ask someone at the information desk." She then turned and hurried out from behind the desk carrying a stack of books as though she thought we would devour them just with our volume. Ed rolled his eyes.

"Okay…" he muttered looking at me annoyed. I shrugged back at him. We carried on to the next information desk.

"Do you know where to find the military records?" Ed repeated.

The stout woman sitting there was reading a book and held her finger in the air without even looking up when Ed asked his question. Ed and I both sighed in unison and leaned on the desk, looking around for the record section ourselves. When she finally looked up Ed and I had already darted to a door we had spotted at the same time that said "Military Storage Room" in huge letters—how hadn't we seen it before? But we never got to the back room. We were stopped by a soldier in a blue military uniform.

"Good evening, Mr. Fullmetal Alchemist, sir!" The nervous guard snapped into a salute. "I have a message from the—" Ed cleared his throat rather loud.

"I'm kind of in the middle of something, if you can't see. And you forgot…" He gestured to me. I felt very happy and annoyed simultaneously by this, but the guard looked like he was being choked.

"I-I'm sorry sir—and miss!" he put in quickly. "But this order comes from the Colonel."

"Oh brilliant…" Ed murmured, then he spoke up. "What does _he_ want?"

"He says to come to his office immediately."

"Why?"

"He didn't say."

"I know what this is about…" Ed rubbed his chin and looked to the ground. "Well, what did I expect?" he asked himself as he watched me. I knew what this was about too, but I was excited. "Tell the Colonel I'll be there in a minute, I have to go find Al." He turned ready to run off with me following but then added, "And make sure to address _all_ military personnel next time, newb."

The soldier gulped but snapped back into a solute. "Yes, sir! And, miss…" He hesitated too long. Ed gave a roar of frustration.

"Doesn't anybody read the 'relations' description?"

The guard didn't know what he meant.

"You know the column under the person's name that says, 'Has Relations to blank' in their profile documents?" Ed asked sarcastically. The soldier thought for a moment and then realized what Ed was saying.

"Oh, I know what you mean! Yes, people read those, but I'm not even allowed near any of those documents, sir." He almost forgot to add the last word again.

Ed snorted.

"Well then it's time you knew for future reference. This is Nayru." He pointed to me. I waved but wondered why Ed would care so much about people knowing my name when he himself hadn't cared until a couple weeks ago.

"Nayru who?" the guard asked.

Ed didn't look to me like I thought he and the guard would.

"That isn't any of your business. Just call her Nayru or the Water Alchemist."

The guard bowed and we proceeded to the of the library section we'd last seen Al. He was nowhere to be found, but instead he found us.

"Hey, Brother! I have something to tell you!" Al exclaimed in a whisper.

"Same here wait—what do you have to tell me first?" Ed asked.

"Um… maybe I better tell you outside," Al said as Edward gave him a suspicious glance. I was pretty sure I knew what this was about.

"Well, then I'll tell you first. The Colonel already has a job for—"

"ALREADY?" Al screamed wide-eyed just as we were walking out the library doors. People stopped and watched as Ed and I basically shoved Al the rest of the way through.

"Quiet! I don't want the whole world to know everything about us!" Ed hissed. "Anyways," We turned right toward East HQ. "The Colonel wants to see us. He hasn't said what the assignment is yet so that's why we're going to see him."

Al's metal face looked horrified. "Oh, okay…"

Ed paused. "So what did you have to tell me?"

"Uh… Brother, come here for a second." Al suddenly turned into an alley-way, Ed followed him. I didn't need to see to know what he was doing.

"AL! WE CAN'T KEEP A PET CAT! YOU KNOW WE WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO TAKE CARE OF IT! NOW PUT IT BACK WHERE YOU FOUND IT!"

"DON'T BE SO HEARTLESS!"

I chuckled to myself as they squabbled all the way to East HQ.

* * *

><p>"Hashimoto Yearu? What kind of a name is that?" Ed asked as Mustang looked over the target's report. I sat next to him without feeling <em>too<em> weird.

"It's Aerugian," Roy said. "He's an Alchemist who moved to Amestris to get away from the poverty in Aerugo that haunts most sailors who work for trade there. Now he spends his time stealing ideas from other Alchemists and claiming them for his self to earn a living and then some."

"So far this doesn't sound too dangerous," Ed said slowly. "So what do we have to do?"

"All you three have to do is capture and detain him, then call for back-up to take care of the rest," Mustang instructed.

"Well that sounds like a pretty easy job. Why can't one of your other dogs do it?"

"They're all busy, and even if they weren't this Hashimoto guy has been able to predict our every move no matter what so far, so I doubt he'd be stupid enough to get captured by normal soldiers—not that I have anything against them. I hear he's hiding in the South city of Menouthis. It's a city that is mostly deserted now because of all the violent earth quakes that had been erupting. Now the earth quakes are pretty tame, but the town is still mostly deserted so you'll have few to no citizens to keep in mind while on this mission."

"Alright, this should be fun for us," Ed said standing up and stretching to the ceiling, not even making it to Al's height.

"Wait, you must know something before you go." A door shut behind us, and I turned to see Riza Hawkeye had just entered the room. I hadn't seen her before, or her me, so I watched her every move as I had done with everyone else. She didn't notice. "No matter how many soldiers we sent after this man he always manages to escape or counterattack with minutes to spare so be careful. Even though this guy is said to be a Mineral Alchemist he seems more like a psychic. He can predict your every move. Don't let your guard down for even a second," she warned harshly, but there was concern in her voice.

"We'll be fine," Al assured her.

"Yeah, this guy sounds like a thief with a few cheap tricks here and there to make him only _seem _dangerous. Thanks for the advice, but I'm sure this guy is going to be easy to take down," Ed said rubbing something off of his bright red coat. "The sooner we get this mission done the soon we can continue our search for the Philosopher's Stone." Ed clenched his fists like always as Al and I stood up. But instead of marching straight out of the door as if marching to give someone a good scolding like he always did, Ed let Al go out first and stayed behind to walk out with me.

* * *

><p>'So here we are on a train again,' I thought as I sighed to myself, but I sighed of the excitement of what was to come. 'Onto our first assignment, onto the first dangerous encounter, and onto the South.' I remembered that Ed and Al's teacher lived there, but I knew we probably wouldn't run into her while down there—in fact I knew it.<p>

I was glad to be out of East City and of that boring library, but I wondered if what Riza had said was true. If Hashimoto _was_ some psychic how could we defeat him? But Ed was right, if he's supposed to be a Mineral Alchemist how could he also be psychic? It was almost impossible to be two different types of Alchemists but then again it was also impossible for Homunculi to exist, for this world to be real, and…

Why was Ed being so nice to me? Did he know something I didn't? Or was it simply what he knew I knew about him that made him suck up to me? But it wasn't like I'd told him I was from another world or that I knew about his and his brother's bodies. And he didn't really seem to be sucking up to me either. So what was it…? I didn't know but that didn't matter now. Our first mission was approaching like the incoming twilight out the window, and I watched Ed sleep against the glass.

Even though I knew Ed had to be sleeping for both himself and Al's body, I didn't see how he could sleep so much and work so hard at the same time. But then again it's not like I had been doing any different lately. Except the only difference was I wasn't sleeping for two people.

I closed my eyes and lay back against the train car's cushions. Yawning, I thought of what this city Menouthis I'd never heard of before was like…


	6. Menouthis

Chapter 6: Menouthis

I'll tell you want Menouthis was like. It was very deserted—as the Colonel had said—it was very depressing and very dirty. As soon as we got off of the train, the train took off again without even seeing if anyone else wanted to get on, and though no one was at the platform to greet us or anywhere _near_ it, it didn't look too bad at first. The station was clean and there were splashes of bright red and green on the small roofs. Even if they were faded, that was the only color there was. Past the train station there was nothing but gray.

There wasn't a soul in sight and there didn't seem to be any building left standing. All of them had either crumbled under themselves or they were so beat down from all of the years and rainstorms that broke out a lot in the area they looked as good as collapsed. As though the rain had washed all of the color and life out of the whole city.

"Well this looks… peaceful…" Ed stated. He was right. Even though it was depressing beyond belief everywhere you looked, it was nice and quiet. There were only a couple of birds nesting around the deserted place but other than that there was nothing but rubble.

"How can someone even live here…?" Ed asked himself, speaking my thoughts.

"Who knows…" I said.

We walked forward stepping over wreckage but didn't walk too long until we saw the clouds thickening above us. They were gray like the rest of the city, but yet somehow brighter than the scattered shards of faded painted stone on the ground. As the sun disappeared and the animals grew silent the ground became dark.

"Oh brilliant," Ed mumbled; some water sprinkled on his head. "How are going to find this Hashimoto guy, now?" he asked the sky with a scowl.

"Well it's just a little rain…" I said but spoke too soon. Lightning cracked the only tree in the whole city on the top of the only hill and that was enough to scare all three of us silly. But before we went to find shelter I looked to the top of hill. Right next to the tree I saw—

"Hey Nayru, are you coming? There's a pretty stable building over here," Al said.

I thought about saying something to them but decided I was probably wrong and followed them into the shelter, bowing under the tattered rag that hung above the doorway. The rain pattered on the fragile roof that was drooping so low it looked like it would cave in at any moment but Edward went keenly in. With Al right behind me, I watched him—I don't know why—as I ducked through the rags. I hadn't even turned around when heard a horrible snapping sound below us, and the next thing I knew I was looking face up into darkness.

* * *

><p>Al flinched as the last pebbles fell in front of his face.<p>

'Oh my god!' he thought. 'What happened to Nayru and Big Brother?' All Al had heard was a loud crunching noise, and when he had looked over all he saw was a compact of stone in front of his feet.

"ED? ED! NAYRU! ANYONE THERE?" Al screamed so loud it echoed down, down, down, but into where who knew.

'Oh, god! Oh my god! What do I do?' Al asked himself. 'They fell down, but to where? What is there under these buildings? Why aren't they answering…?' Al didn't want to think about it, but the thoughts crept into his mind anyways. What if they had been crushed? What would he do? He would be left alone forever. Trapped in this different body of his for the rest of his days… but without a real body, where would his days even end?

'Why didn't I bring chalk with me so I could draw a transmutation circle?' Al probed as he tapped his head, angry with himself. 'But too late now…' He tried to shift the boulders by even an inch but none moved. They were suppressed together tighter than a puzzle. Not even Al's super strength could make them budge. Al decided to try one last time to contact Ed and Nayru before finding a way down.

"EDWARD? NAYRU? IF YOU'RE DOWN THERE,"—'If you're alive', Al wanted to add—"I'M GOING TO TRY AND FIND A WAY DOWN! SO STAY WHERE YOU ARE!" And with that, Al left the dead building and walked back out into the rain again.

The water splashed heavily on Al's shoulders and Al all of a sudden worried if all this water might seep through to his blood seal. The blood seal Ed had drawn that day…

Al didn't want to think about that either. He shook his armored head, ridding himself of the unpleasant images he imagined—and had seen. He looked around, but seeing there was no way to tell which buildings had a passage down below and which ones didn't, Al just started by checking the one right next to the building where Ed and Nayru had fallen down to the pits of hell…

* * *

><p>I coughed and stared up at blackness.<p>

My face was wet but from what I didn't know. I went to rub the wet substance out of my eyes to see better and again felt my glasses were not there.

"Oh, dammit…" I muttered to myself, not caring if anyone heard me. "What happened, anyway…?" I asked. The last thing I remembered seeing was Al's masked face with a crack underneath my feet. Then the feeling of slipping and falling for ages, until suddenly waking here. Was I the only one who fell? Was I alone? Well in this world, I was always alone…

I was pretty sure if Al was down here with me I'd hear a clink from him sometime sooner than now, and if Ed were down here with me I'm sure he wouldn't've blacked out like wimpy me. So I was stuck down in the sewer alone.

I groaned as I sat up nourishing my wet and grimy head. I didn't feel like I'd been pierced anywhere by a sharp stone or broken anything, but I ached all over and couldn't see anything around me. Though since I could hear distant running water I knew I was underground and in a muddy place.

I stretched my hands cautiously in front of me feeling a stone wall; it was damp. I felt directly across from the moldy wall; there was another damp wall. I tried to stand but I couldn't get my legs out of the thick mud holding me down. I moved my hands about to feel my surroundings but cut my hand on a sharp stone next to my leg. I felt the hot blood drip down my hand and ignored it. I needed to find my way out of here. I reached above me and felt the close ceiling. It was also sharp but I didn't hurt myself again. I pulled one loose rock out of the cluster, hoping it didn't collapse on me.

A ray of light, one ray of light shined through, and even though it wasn't that bright it was enough to see a little ways around me. I listened hearing nothing but the running water, which made me nervous. Were Ed and Al still up there?

"ED! AL!"

…

I got nothing, they weren't there. How far down was I? Could they even hear me?

I shifted in the muck able to get on my hands and knees and started crawling. I made sure to avoid the same rock that cut me this time but instead I ran into something much larger and softer. As soon as I felt it I knew it was a body, I just hoped it wasn't dead.

So someone _had_ fallen down with me. Was it Ed? It couldn't have been Al—too soft and warm—but had I really stumbled down here with Edward Elric and awoken first when we _both_ blacked out? I didn't know why, but I felt a great rush of triumph as I thought about it. I wasn't sure what to do for a person who was out cold—if I should try to wake them up or just leave them be until they came around themselves, I just didn't really know—so I waited.

* * *

><p>Alphonse finally found a building many paces away from the place Edward and Nayru had fallen that had a passageway down to the sewer. But once he walked down the slippery steps he didn't have any idea which way to turn. Was it right or left? He looked both ways and chose right, reluctantly, but he had to start somewhere, right?<p>

It was rather mucky down there which made it hard to travel—even in his body of armor—but he trudged on as fast as he could.

Alphonse stopped. There was a sound in front of him. What was it? It sounded like someone was walking through the watery mud… Still there was no more noise, so Al continued but not for long. Two eyes gleamed in front of him, both bright yellowy-white, just like him. Al blinked. That wasn't possible! There couldn't possibly be someone else like—

The figure revealed was very close to his as it lunged toward him. As if from nowhere, two more came behind Alphonse and held his arms behind him. Alphonse struggled, but surprisingly these three giants were much stronger than him. One stared right into his face. It wasn't all that different from him, same _type_ of body—made of metal—but didn't speak a word or have the same feeling as one got from Al as they spoke to him.

"Ur—" Al didn't know what these goons wanted but it didn't matter, he needed to find—

One hit Al on the head and somehow, even though made of metal, Al fell unconscious.

* * *

><p>Nayru looked down above me as I opened my eyes. Her eyes were full of fear and concern. What was it? My head hurt. I blinked at her and started to sit up.<p>

"No, don't!" she said putting her hands on my chest but didn't push.

"What is it?" I asked utterly annoyed. My head hurt only a little. I put my hand to it. The few rays of light I got from a hole behind Nayru's head let me see the blood on my hand as I looked at it. Swallowing hard I tried to speak, to tell her I was fine, but nothing came out of my mouth but a loud gasp. My head was swimming and I couldn't control my body anymore; my limbs—what few I had—wouldn't respond.

Nayru's face disappeared and I only felt myself being dragged off somewhere, like a half-remembered dream. To somewhere safe, and warm, and dry.

* * *

><p>"Oh, Ed," I grunted to myself. "Why must you be so heavy?" I dragged Ed upright, hoping I was doing the right thing for him—he was easy to drag because of his size, though his automail made up for it. He wasn't conscious again. And after positioning him I sat up next to his limp body and reached into my pocket to take out my half-fingered alchemy gloves. I clapped my hands together and put them in the mud under us. There was a flash of green as I pulled all of the water out from under us, making the mucky mud become nothing but dirt. I then cleansed the water I collected of any lose debris while guiding some into my mouth.<p>

I sighed and looked around. Although I'd sucked all of the water in the area out from under us there was still much more trying to get back into the dirt that now surrounded us. It looked like the water was rising from all the rain. The sound of rushing water to both sides of me had gotten louder—much louder—which was making me worried and nervous. I glanced at the unconscious Ed. I remembered what Winry had said long ago, but hadn't even said it yet in this world. "It's hard to believe that he's a 'human weapon'. After all, we're the same age and he's so tiny! He seems so _defenseless_ when he's sleeping…"

Except Ed wasn't sleeping now. He was hurt. The gash on his head looked as if he'd fallen on a knife, a very sharp one too.

I wondered how much it hurt, but of course couldn't and didn't ask.

I took off my sweater and put it around him after directing some clean water to his open mouth and on his wound. As I did so I heard him grunt something that I wish I hadn't. "_Winry…_" he'd said.

"She isn't here," I wished I could say. "But I am…"


	7. Silence

Chapter 7: Silence

Without my glasses I couldn't see more than two feet in front of my face. And the lack of light didn't help either. I thought about venturing down a little ways to see if the running water I heard let out somewhere so I could go find Al, but I couldn't see a thing and didn't want to leave Ed. I didn't want to stay here forever, though. Even if it was with injured Ed—he needed help.

He wasn't waking up which worried me. From what little light I got from the gap where I pulled the stone out of the barricade of rocks above us, I could barely see Ed breathing and my blood stained hands in front of me. I had gotten some clothes from Winry while in Resembool, but still had my own clothes with me since Winry's outfits were kind of… revealing—let's just say. And I kind of had a lot to reveal—unfortunately.

I didn't know what to do so I took off my over-shirt and held it to Ed's head—I mean Winry's sweater that she basically _gave_ to me, of course. It started becoming a bit darker and I couldn't see anything but my hand on Ed's golden head. I also thought I heard the running water getting louder and I was right. There was now water streaming through the only light hole I got. It pattered on Ed's head, making him stir.

I gave him a deep gaze as his eyes blinked open and stared at me. He coughed.

"W-where are we?" he asked weakly looking around the muddy sewer, though I had no idea how well he could see since _he_ didn't need glasses—I hated glasses. I could scarcely hear him over the sound of rushing water which sounded like it was coming our way, but whispered, "We fell down into a sewer. Al isn't here and I don't know how to get out. I can't see anything."

"Oh…" he said. "I wonder if he's looking for us…" Ed sounded as though he were drifting off to sleep while he spoke. Ed mumbled something but I couldn't hear him over the rising sound of running water. I felt my pants getting wet again and squinted to the ground to see a small gleam of light reflect into my eyes as the water started creeping back onto my little island of dirt. Ed must have felt it too.

"The water is rising," he stated leaning his head back against the moldy wall and closing his eyes. I heard his automail creek and he moaned holding his arm. I felt sorry for him. I knew the weather was never good on people with automail.

"We should try and find Al…" I heard him trailing off as he started to slump to one side.

"No, Ed! Don't pass out again!" I pleaded, the water getting up to our waists now. I must have woken him a little because he gave a startled flinch. "Sorry…" I murmured quietly.

"For what?" Ed coughed again.

'That can't be good,' I thought. "For…"

"For everything," I wanted to say. He smiled understandingly as though he read my thoughts but I tried not to notice him. I didn't deserve his company and now when he needed help I couldn't even see his face clearly in front of me.

Now the water was almost at our chests.

I straightened my back a little, clapped my hands together, and put them into the mud. I took all of the water out from under us again and quickly pressed my hands back together to smash them into the wall and made barriers on either side of us. No more water could slither in now.

"There…" I mumbled to myself, even though I was sure Ed heard me too. He was holding his automail close and saw me this time trying _not_ to watch him as he rubbed his aching stubs, my hand to his bleeding head.

Ed looked away as asked me the question I thought I would have heard him ask a long time ago. "Do you know what Al and I did?" he breathed with his gaze past his arm, past his leg, lost into his memories.

I didn't know what to say, which was what my answer was.

"How do you know?" he asked.

"I… its part of my secret…" I said though I knew it was dumb.

"Have you always known?" Ed inquired still looking through the ground. I wasn't watching him either.

"Yeah…" I answered slowly, turning my head entirely the other way. Then Ed asked his last question.

"What do you think of me and Al?" Now he was watching me. I looked at him too. I was sure my eyes were full of sorrow, fear, and pity as I did so, and he could see it.

"I feel bad for you," I whispered and then choked. "And I wish I could help you." And then it was me who broke into sobs. "I'm sorry," I wept and wiped the tears away trying to toughen up. "I'm not usually this emotional or _wimpy_…"

Ed watched me with curiosity.

"Why are you the one crying?" he half-laughed.

I blushed slightly since I had never heard Ed ask anyone this except Winry—which brought up what I'd heard a couple moments ago. I smiled back at him with the tears still coming and tried to laugh too.

"It's better you don't know anything about me. I'm a nobody. My family tells me that every day—" I cut myself off and put my hand that wasn't on Ed's bloody hair to my mouth.

"You have a family?" Ed asked.

"Yes, of course."

I saw Ed look at me as though asking, "'Of course'? What do you mean of course?"

"Well I know you don't have much of a family," I said quickly, but then realized how offensive that sounded. "I'm sorry!" I cried again. "I didn't mean it like that! I meant—"

"I know how you meant it," said Ed. And he tried to laugh again, but only coughed out murky drops of red onto the dry mud.

"We need to get out of here…" I said looking around. "You need help—" I felt Ed's cold hand on mine.

"It's okay," he assured me with a weak stare. "I'm fine," he said. I smiled but knew he was lying.

"No you aren't," I said taking the metal hand that was on mine—he actually held it back… "You are never fine. Neither you nor Al. You two always act so tough around everyone. Like you are just two normal siblings living a normal life, but you two are actually very different from anyone. You know more about alchemy and the world than you give yourself credit for, you are much braver than you will ever believe and you are also a much better friend than everyone thinks." Ed observed my face as I told him this but I tried to continue as though he weren't there—I was never good at giving out complements.

"No one knows how much you actually hurt on the inside, or how hard you actually work. And no one ever thinks of you as '_soft_'. They all always suspect that with the fierce codename 'Fullmetal Alchemist' you have a heart as hard as your limbs, but they are wrong." Finally I turned to look at him, his hand still in mine—did I feel it shaking? Probably just from the cold… "I know you, Ed. I know what you like, who you are, and even who you love, but I just have one thing to ask you. Aren't you tired?

"Aren't you tired of all of the questions? Of all the fear, all the anger, all the sorrow, and especially all of the silence people give you? Aren't you tired of all the accusations, prying eyes, grubby fingers and this reputation you have to keep up? Do you even like being mistaken for the kid who is thought to be able to take down any beast or barrier that stands in his way? Don't you want to be who _you_ are? Don't you need someone who understands? Someone you can run to, to always be there for you no matter what?"

Ed ducked his head away as if ashamed but of what I didn't know.

"I heard what you said a couple hours ago," I muttered. "I heard you call Winry's name. I know you love her." He looked up, alarmed. I kept going. "But she can never be that person—that person who will always be there for you. I know you love her and you would do anything for her, but she just doesn't understand you." I was now telling myself to stop—because I didn't know where this was going. I just kept listening to the words that were coming out of my mouth. 'I can't stop now,' I thought. 'I just can't.'

"Come on, Ed. You need to let yourself have a break for once. Humans can go to great limits when they are pushed to, yes. But don't over work yourself thinking you will get the whole world. That's impossible for anyone to achieve, even if they _are _different. People may think you are 'Fullmetal' but I don't. I know you are nothing more than any other person, just a human." I sighed, wondering how much longer this was going to take. "So let me ask you again, aren't you tired of it all? Of everyone…?"

Ed looked at me with such… fear was it? I only stared back into his gold eyes. Those now frightened gold eyes, which started watering. I watched as Ed finally gave in. He gave me a stare, such a sad and sorrowful stare I could only watch him.

His bloody head rested against my chest as he sobbed. He sobbed out everything. All of his fear, his emotion, and his sorrow. He finally didn't hold anything back. I only held his head close as I finally felt as if I had done him some good. I had finally shown Ed what it was like—what it was like to be human. Just as he had done for me…

* * *

><p>"Where do you think Ed and Al are?" Winry asked Mrs. Rockbell as she did the dishes. Winry touched Den's nose with the one hand that wasn't under her chin. But she stared past Den and instead at the floor.<p>

"I don't know. You shouldn't worry about them too much Winry, they'll be fine," Mrs. Rockbell said, emptying out the sink.

"I don't know… What's Ed going to do when his automail tenses up? It's not like he'll tighten the screws or get check-ups himself." Pinako watched her granddaughter. Winry sighed and sat up as Den wagged her tail at Pinako for her dish to be cleaned.

"I know you worry about those boys so much, but they will be fine," Pinako told her. "They'll protect each other to the end. You should know that."

"I do," Winry answered sitting up to look at her grandmother. "But what about that girl Nayru that went with them? She was kind of quiet… who's going to protect her?"

Pinako patted Den's head. "Even though she didn't seem like it, I think that girl was a lot stronger on the inside than she let show. She seemed like she could overcome most anything—almost like Ed."

Winry thought about it. "I don't know… she didn't seem as tough as Ed in my opinion," said Winry vaguely. Then she perked up. "But I'm sure Ed will protect her too."

* * *

><p>My eyes shot open immediately. I thought I heard Winry's voice, far and distant, yet close and loud at the same time. Was I… dreaming? But I hadn't dreamed for over a year or even get in a trance, so how was that possible?<p>

Where was I? I just noticed I was in a dark grimy place but _where_ it was I didn't know. Shaking my metal-self all over I stood straight up to see I was standing by others just like me. Suits of armor were lined row upon row and I almost fit in with all of them, but none of them were moving.

As I examined them I saw none of them had a blood seal to connect a soul to them and none of them were alive. I now also saw I was in a large dome. My clinks rolled around and around the round sides, as though summoning a great beast with that call. I saw no doors and only one window high up on the dome. That was where the only light I got was coming from. It was so deathly quiet I couldn't even tell if it was still raining outside. I took a hesitant step forward and suddenly all of the metal soldiers snapped to life and surrounded me.

Seeing there was nothing I could do against 50 or more of them I let them lead me away to a wall where a doorway appeared only when I was standing right in front of it. It closed behind me and I could see nothing as I ambled forward in the dark silence…

* * *

><p>I squinted as soon as I opened my eyes. Why was the world dark and weh—?<p>

I was resting my head on something soft and… _warm_… But it was dark and I heard rushing water. I also felt my sweater on my back. It was actually rather comfortable here but I didn't know why when I was sleeping on—

I sprang up. Had I just been sleeping on Edward Elric? It didn't_ seem_ like my blurred vision was deceiving me, but in this light… I _had_ been sleeping on him! And he hadn't pushed me off?

Ed's eyes were closed and I couldn't tell if he was sleeping or if he had passed out again… Oh yeah, we needed to get out of here. Why hadn't we long before now, again? That's right; I gave Ed a speech… I felt so embarrassed. I had actually made Ed _cry_…

'Oh well,' I told myself. 'Not now. Now you need to get out of here before Ed bleeds to death.'

"Ed," I whispered. "_Ed_!" I now said aloud. "Ed, wake up! We have to get out of—" There was a creaking sound that wasn't coming from Ed's automail.

"Who's there?" I yelled standing up right and getting my alchemy gloves on. Four pairs of yellow dots watched me and I looked over my shoulder to see two more.

"Well this is fair…" I muttered sarcastically to myself, wishing Ed was awake to help me. I knew I wouldn't be able to fight them off but I might as well try, right?

I slapped my hands together, then to the wall with blue light shifting around me. I tried to make a spear as I had seen Ed do many times and came close, but not much detail was in it. Before I knew what was happening four pairs of the eyes were behind me but before they could smash my head in I swiftly ducked and started running towards the sound of water to my right. There was also light as I drew got closer.

I spun around epically to go back to—somehow—grab Ed but one of the metal men had already picked him up. I thought I heard Ed whisper something, though I couldn't tell what. 'Probably "Winry" again,' I thought.

Full of fiery fury I dodged the swinging arm of a suit of armor who had slung Ed over his hard shoulder, and kicked him as hard as I possibly could in the stomach area. To my surprise the metal teetered a little bit but I hit it so hard my leg now hurt.

As the others dashed for me I blocked all of the moves I could with my weak spear, but it snapped in half just like the knife I had made back at Resembool—I really needed to work on my transmutations for objects. Left with nothing but my bare bloody hands and one wobbly leg I tried my best to go right through their fingers and pursued the suit holding Ed but before I could leap over my now crushed small barrier I'd made to keep water away, one of the soldiers cunningly smashed the rocks that were still compacted tightly above us, and they fell.

I felt myself rocking back and forth on the shoulder of one of the metal soldiers and saw the soldier next to me was holding Ed. He had his eyes open and was peering at me as though he had just awoken from a long sleep. Blood dripped from his hair.

"Are you okay?" he mumbled. I could barely hear him.

"Yeah…" I said, though my leg still hurt and I felt rather weak below the waist for some reason…

* * *

><p>There hadn't been anything I could've done. They had just come out of nowhere, so I had done my best, but even then it wasn't enough. I hoped I could do better for them next time, but something told me it was already too late, and there was nothing I could to stop what was about to ensue…<p>

I hoped I was wrong, but you could never be too sure of anything, that I knew.


	8. Desperation

Chapter 8: Desperation

The hallway I walked through was a long dark one. There were no lights at all and when I ran into the wall with a loud clank, a blinding light shined in my mask of a face. There was a man sitting at the desk inside the small stuffy study room, looking through scrolls and research notes as I walked in. He didn't even lift his head as I entered but kept going on with his writing. He didn't look at all dangerous from the back—whoever he was—and when he finally turned around to look at me the look on his face wasn't too much different from the determined one on Ed's. But he was different.

His Aerugian face was long but also squashed at the cheeks as though someone had squeezed his head in as a child. His chin was broad, his hair was brown, and his light brown eyes looked on me as neither a guest nor a captive, only as a visitor who happened to be in his study.

He sighed, crossed his arms and closed his eyes. Almost like Big Brother did… "I don't know why you are here," he stated with his middle-aged voice. "But I cannot allow you to stick your nose in my research facility any further. Please leave now and forget you saw this place."

I was confused. This man didn't seem like someone who would kidnap people so I didn't see what it was he was trying to hide…

"Uh… I didn't mean to come here. Your metal soldier-guys attacked me and there was nothing I could do." Alphonse shrugged slightly.

"Then what are you doing here?" the man asked getting a touch of suspicion and anger in his voice, which made Alphonse uneasy.

"My… my brother and his assistant and I came here to find a criminal named Hashimoto Yearu," Alphonse answered. The man opened his eyes in alarm.

"Are you part of the military?" he asked, watching Alphonse with fear.

"No, my brother is. He's a State Alchemist," Al said, starting to get suspicious himself.

"Your brother is a State Alchemist?" the Aerugian asked incredulously. Alphonse knew who he was now and felt stupid for not realizing it sooner. 'Why did I tell him all of that information?' Alphonse asked, almost hitting himself in the head from frustration.

"So he's a State Alchemist on a mission and somehow you two got separated? This is interesting…" He rubbed his chin then looked abruptly at Alphonse. "And now I realize that you two must be very close to come out here together alone, though only one of you is a part of the military's scheme."

'"Military's scheme?" What does that mean?' Alphonse asked himself, though didn't know or care if he was lying. He decided not to trust this man any longer. He darted toward him with immense speed, iron fists blurring. Alphonse crushed the chair Hashimoto had been sitting in but the man dodged with time to spare. And suddenly Alphonse had two metal guards pinning him to the ground again. Al could do nothing to get them off of him and Hashimoto crouched low in front of him to tell him something.

"Do not struggle. There is nothing you can do to get out of their iron grip. Though I am surprised how well you've been holding up considering you are only a human in a giant suit of armor." Al knew what he was about to say next which horrified him. "Let's see what you really look like, eh?"

Hashimoto lifted off Al's helmet but the reaction Al got from him was not at all what he had been expecting.

"Well, well, well, look at that!" Al felt something jiggling him around.

"Please be careful!" Alphonse begged feeling awkward. "Be sure not to touch the seal you see in there."

"Seal?" Hashimoto inquired squirming inside Al. "Oh, that? Don't worry, I'll be careful. It looks like it's drawn out of blood…" He cleared his throat then asked, "Would you mind telling me how you got like this? You're not too far from my creations if you ask me." Hashimoto climbed back out and to Alphonse's surprise put his helmet back on his shoulders.

"Uh, that's something I don't like to talk about…" Al said feeling the two guards raising him to his feet.

"Hm… could you tell me _anything_ about it?" Hashimoto asked. "Just tell me what you are exactly…"

Alphonse couldn't tell him what he and Ed had done, even if it was to a criminal. _Especially_ if he was a criminal! If they caught him like instructed he would definitely tell somebody to get revenge.

"I was… just an experiment just like your guards here. All they did was make up my feelings and thoughts so I would believe the person I call my brother is my brother, though I know he is not. I don't know how they made me but it has to be close to how you made your soldiers in some way," Alphonse lied trying to put a touch of sadness in his voice. Hashimoto stared a long time at Al then started laughing so hard his eyes almost watered.

"That's a pretty good story, kid," he chuckled. "But, come on, anyone can see you are lying. Even if you have a face of steel! Don't mess around with me. I don't have enough time on my hands for that." He put his hand on Al's shoulder. "Now I don't mean to be the bad guy here, but I can't let you or your brother leave until I get answers. And I am _not_ letting you two take me in either," he added. "Good thing I already have him too, huh?"

Alphonse gasped. "You caught them?"

"Yeah, he was sitting there helpless in the sewers—wait, what do you mean 'them'?"

Alphonse didn't answer.

"Still have a tongue-tie, eh? Well I'll find out soon enough. My other patrolling guards have them. Whoever the other is, oh well. As I told you before I don't have enough time to waste with interrogating. So until you will answer me you can enjoy the dungeons of the Menouthis temple."

"The dungeons?" Al asked terrified as the guards turned him around and started leading him to one of the doors on either side of the stuffy study room.

"Yeah, sorry, that's the only place I know you won't be able to escape from. And I don't want to put you in the dome holding all of my soldiers in case you decided to try and go on a rampage of desperation to get out."

"No—wait!" Al screamed and struggled as the metal guards dragged him away but it made no difference.

* * *

><p>My eyes blinked open and I felt myself still being carried by one of the metal soldiers. My arms were dangling loosely below me as though all of the strength had been drained from my body, though I didn't know why. My leg only hurt a little bit—no, I couldn't feel my leg… or the rest of my body below my waist. I tried straightening out to see why, but I had so little strength I could not lift myself up to do so. Then horrible thoughts started creeping into my mind as I also realized I couldn't see Ed being carried next to me. I could not see or hear anything else but my arms and the soldier that was carrying me. I couldn't even hear the clanking footsteps of the soldier. But then as I watched closer I saw one foot after the other of his metal body reach the ground and not even touch it. Its feet molded into part of the ground as a transmutation as he walked as though he had to keep contact with the ground at all times.<p>

I squirmed a little to adjust myself against the guard's uncomfortable metal body but all I got was a smack in the head from one of the halves of my broken spear.

* * *

><p>Ed blinked his eyes. There was nothing to see but blackness. His head still hurt but there was nothing he could do.<p>

Ed struggled for breath as he realized he was slung over the shoulder of something hard—a suit or armor. Relieved, Ed knew he was safe in his brother's hands but wondered where they were and why he didn't see Nayru following them. Wait, there _was_ someone following them, it looked like—another suit of armor? That one had someone over its shoulder too. Was that Nayru? But it couldn't be, who was this other—?

Edward saw it wasn't his brother that was carrying him at all. Alphonse wasn't even there.

'How the hell did I get here?' Ed asked himself—even in his head his voice sounding weak and wounded.

"Nay… Nayru…" Edward choked and coughed a little feeling something warm coming into his mouth as he did. It tasted like iron but he didn't care. Why wasn't she answering?

"Nayru…?" Edward said it a little louder this time. She still didn't answer. Ed didn't care if he was tired, if he was hurt, injured or dying. He just needed to know she was alive. Even if all he got from her was another mumble that said his name. That would be better than this silence she was giving him. Ed got even more worried when he noticed blood dripping from her legs. "NAYRU?" Ed gurgled and took a breath. "NAYRU!" He still got no answer.

The guards stopped. A doorway suddenly appeared and a flood of light shone on the floor. They walked into the room.

"Ah, I see…" said a male voice. The two of them were set gently against the wall next to the doorway. A face crouched in front of Ed's but Ed could not see it from his dizzy head. He'd lost too much blood and wondered himself how he wasn't dead. Ed didn't pay the face examining him any mind but turned his head blindly toward Nayru. Though he could barely see her; he knew she was lying on the ground. There was a pool of blood under her legs and he thought he saw some had stained her hair as well.

"So you're still awake, are you?" the man asked holding Ed's chin so he could better see his head.

Ed coughed. "Get away from—" He didn't finish his sentence and although he was still awake slumped to one side like Nayru.

"Pity, it's too bad a tough kid like you has been lured into the military. You are so young too." Hashimoto shook his head. Ed felt a rush of fury and raised his head again.

"I'm not… a tough kid…" he said weakly, trying not to choke on his blood.

"You're not, are you?" Hashimoto chuckled as he went to one of the drawers in his desk. "Here," he said. "You look half dead." Hashimoto drew a circle with all of Ed's blood on the wall and pressed his hands to it. Red light emitted and Ed felt a lot more awake, yet coughed again.

"Heal her too…" Ed told him. "Whatever you want… you're not…" He felt like blacking out again but shook himself awake. "You're not getting whatever you want out of me until you help her too."

Hashimoto looked tenderly at both of them. Ed saw him and knew what that look meant but didn't say anything. "Of course. I was going to heal her after you anyways," he said and drew a circle around Nayru too.

Red light swirled around her but Ed saw Hashimoto give Nayru's leg a look of concern as he tried another transmutation which danced pink. Ed had never seen a transmutation like that before but as long as it helped what did it matter? Hashimoto turned back to Ed.

"I'm sorry, I can't heal her leg. I could only stop the bleeding."

Ed shifted and slowly crawled over to Nayru. He moved the blood stained hair from her face and watched her. Even when she was in pain she had that determined look. She only ever wiped that serious look off her expression when he spoke to her, though she was always polite to everyone who deserved it.

Edward admired her, but he didn't admire her the same way as he did Winry. He didn't even know who she was or where she came from but that didn't matter. He loved the way she spoke to him and what she knew about him—even if it was a little creepy. But Ed remembered how he had even gotten into this mess. He was here to find and catch the criminal Hashimoto and Ed was sure he knew Hashimoto was staring at him right now. Though, he spoke before Ed could.

"Are you the State Alchemist that came here to find me?" Hashimoto asked blandly. Why wasn't there any fear in his voice as Ed glared at him with disgrace in his eyes?

"Yes," Ed grumbled.

"I know because your brother told me," Hashimoto stated, still without fear. Then he lowered his voice. "And I also saw his empty body."

Who did this guy think he was? Though he didn't seem too dangerous or criminal-like, Ed didn't like it.

"You did, did you? And how do you know about that? What's it to you, anyway?" Edward asked trying to contain himself for his own safety.

"I want to know how it happened, that's all. And I can't allow you three to leave either. You would arrest me and I can't have that. All of this research would go to waste."

Ed knew he would demand for an answer no matter how long it took—he could see the stubbornness in his eyes—but he didn't want to tell him _everything_.

"How much do I have to tell you?" Ed asked sitting down between Hashimoto and Nayru's still body.

"Enough," Hashimoto said.

"Well that depends on how much 'enough' is to you." Ed was starting to regain his strength but still tried to keep his temper low as Nayru had.

"How about… just about how that body of armor is really your brother, okay?"

Ed closed his eyes. "Fine." He simply held up his right hand. "My brother almost died when he and I tried something stupid, so I drew the blood rune you see in his armor now and traded my arm for his soul." Ed looked Hashimoto straight in the face now. "That's all there is to tell," he said. "And now I'm a dog of the military so I can regain both of our bodies back. Now can we go?"

Hashimoto nodded. "Well, you weren't lying. But I still want to know more."

"What more could you possibly want? It seems to me that you are just a cheap skate who eats off of other Alchemist's ideas! Now where's my brother?"

Hashimoto looked stunned. "You honestly believe everything the military tells you?" he asked with his head down.

Ed blinked. "No, I don't."

"Well I will say, yes. I have used other Alchemists' ideas for myself, but if you knew my intentions maybe you wouldn't be so keen to arrest me."

"That doesn't matter!" Ed said getting impatient. "I honestly don't care about arresting you right now or what your personal reasons are or whatever! I just want to know why you need all of this information out of me and why I can't see my brother!"

Hashimoto raised his head. "If you wish to see your brother, I will let you." He pressed one hand to the ground and one of the soldiers who had been sitting in the corner, motionless jerked to life. It effortlessly picked up both Nayru and Edward.

"You two can stay with him in the dungeons until you've had time to clear your heads."


	9. The Intrepid

Chapter 9: The Intrepid

I felt my eyes blink open, though I felt nothing but the cold, damp stone floor of a small dungeon cell. I sat up to see Edward and Alphonse right next to me. They didn't seem to be panicked at all.

A pain shot through me as I tried to scrunch my legs against me, and that's when I saw my jeans were covered with dry blood. The last thing I had remembered was running blindly toward Edward in the sewer, but then how had I gotten here? I also remembered hearing distant voices, seeing blurred images, and feeling cold the whole time through it all, but I couldn't put what pieces I had together to make the sequence of events that would lead me here.

As Ed and Al watched me I finally decided to ask, "Where are we?"

Giving me a distressed glance, Ed said, "We're in the old temple of Menouthis—in the dungeons to be more accurate."

My eyes widened.

"You mean the huge red building on the top of the hill that I saw when we first came?" I blurted leaning forward with a start though it hurt.

Al blinked. "You saw this place when we first came? Why didn't you say anything?"

I flushed. "Because I didn't think I was right," I muttered.

"About what?" Ed inquired, cocking his head to me.

I sighed. "Well I thought there was something weird about this place as soon as we came here—I mean, how is this the only building left standing and untouched? So I thought about saying something, but then I thought it was just me." When they continued to stare I said, "I know it's stupid, but that's just what I thought. And now it seems I should have said something." I gave another sigh as I looked to the floor.

"It's not like you knew," said Ed. "We all aren't perfect."

I could see Alphonse was wondering why we were talking to each other so fondly, but I decided to break the silent tension by asking, "How did we get here, anyway?"

Edward sat back against the wall again. "Al said after we fell down that hole he came looking for us only to be caught by some soldier guys made of metal that apparently knocked him out." Edward said this so cynically I didn't think he fully believed it, but why would Al lie? "And of course I have no idea what happened in the sewer after…"

"After you made me cry," is what he refused to say, especially since Alphonse was now with us. He just said, "After your little speech." Alphonse didn't know what he was talking about and I could tell he wanted to ask, but didn't.

"But when I woke up I was also being carried by some metal soldier, and then I was put in a room with some guy who was actually Hashimoto. He said he wanted to know the secrets of Al's body. Since I refused you and I were sent down here with Al, who said he also met with Hashimoto before being sent here too."

After grasping everything Edward had just said, I asked, "And why aren't we finding a way out? Couldn't you just make your own door with your alchemy?" I knew he must have a reason for not doing so, so it was best to know it sooner than later.

"Because even though this guy is a pain in the ass we are still on a mission and have to capture him. And it's kind of hard to do that when we aren't even anywhere near him, so actually here is the best place to be to capture him." I didn't fully understand.

"How is being locked in the dungeon _below_ him the best place to be?" I asked raising my eyebrows.

"Because if we just ran away, then what? It would be much harder to _get_ in, than be _taken_ in," he said. I saw his point.

"So what are we going to do, then?"

"We'll wait until Hashimoto's guards come and get us, and then make our way to a position where we can confront him on his own," Ed explained. It was a quite brilliant plan except for one thing.

"Suppose Hashimoto's guards _don't_ come for us? Then what?" I asked. Ed closed his eyes, lines of slight irritation gathering in his face.

"They will," he said plainly. And he was right. They would.

* * *

><p>Three guards came in not too long after to collect the three of us and though that was what we had wanted, we pretended not to do so willingly. One picked Ed and I up with no trouble at all and the other two were meant for Al.<p>

I watched the soldiers' feet fuse into the ground below as he walked up a dark stairway. Ed winked at me and I tried to smile back, though it was hard to do so when I couldn't feel the lower half of my body, and my head was hitting against the hard chest of a metal soldier.

I wasn't given the comfort of being let off of the soldiers back, but as soon as we entered Hashimoto put down his pen to face us as he stopped writing. He started talking immediately as Ed was dropped on the floor, though immediately snatched around the neck by the guard also holding me.

"You," he said pointing at Ed. "Are to tell me how to bind the soul, or—"

"Or what?" Ed spat, though the guard chocked him before he could say anything else.

"Or I'll keep you and your companions here until I find out by taking your brother apart," Hashimoto finished looking toward Alphonse. Edward struggled, though I couldn't tell if he was faking or not anymore.

"Well?" Hashimoto said watching Ed's expression.

"Why do you want to know the secrets of binding the soul?" Edward asked through the guard's iron grip. I could do nothing but dangle there next to him. "Haven't I already told you enough? All you need is the equivalent exchange for it. As long as you are willing to sacrifice something of equal value to get it then you'll do fine," Edward said coldly.

"Ah, you see, it isn't how to _bind_ the soul that I want to know," Hashimoto said with his eyes closed, arms crossed. "But more so how to _make_ a soul to bind. You wouldn't know how to do that, would you?" he asked, looking into Ed's red face. Red with both blood and emotion.

"Nope. I don't know how to make souls," Edward stated. "Only God knows that."

He'd said too much. Hashimoto blinked.

"Why… why do you say that?" Hashimoto had an unbelieving look that he exchanged between Alphonse and I. "How would you know? It's not like you…" He didn't finish seeing the look in Edward's eyes. Hashimoto looked at his own chest. "You mean… _you did it?"_ he asked, though he was never answered. That was Ed's queue.

Edward clapped his hands together and twisted around in the guard's grip smashing his hands into its chest making it disintegrate into pieces of metal and rock. It dropped me with a thud and I felt another shot of pain as I hit the ground.

"A transmutation without a circle?" I heard Hashimoto marvel as he shot out of his chair and grab his own glove. Even through the immense pain I chuckled to myself as I struggled to get on my feet.

Though the other guard had been reduced to dust, the other two guards holding Al now left him to fight against Edward and more rushed in. Alphonse blocked all he could from coming but there were too many to keep _all_ of them out.

The moment Edward had destroyed the first guard—now going along with killing the rest—he had made straight for the door and reached it. I saw Edward dash after Hashimoto, but I couldn't stand on these legs of mine. I didn't care. I kept trying. Alphonse tried to make his way toward me, but there were now so many guards in the room we could barely move.

A soldier unexpectedly swept me off the ground but I could nothing to his metal body to make him let me down. For some reason he went for the doorway Edward and Hashimoto had just disappeared through.

"Nayru!" I heard Al scream as I searched my pockets in vain for a transmutation circle. _Any_ transmutation circle. But I found none. Only the feeling of an iron fist hitting me.

* * *

><p>Edward followed Hashimoto through halls, doors, and labs, but was not even stopped once by any of his guards, as though there were none in this part of the building.<p>

'How stupid can you be?' Edward asked himself, though he was getting farther and farther behind as his leg started to ache. "Not now!" Ed moaned, but as Hashimoto made a turn he disappeared into a tunnel he had made himself, which then closed behind him, forcing Ed to halt. He quickly made his own tunnel through the stone but when he reached the other side of it he saw a sight he wished was not true.

* * *

><p>Alphonse smashed all of the soldiers he could, but now he was left in this room full of clanging, brawling metal by himself. Why couldn't he have stopped them from taking Nayru?<p>

'Ed had better return soon…' he thought as metal arm against metal arm bashed him from all directions, but suddenly to his surprise the battle ended and all of the soldiers literally melted into the ground. The room was empty. Bewildered, Alphonse launched out the door Edward and Nayru had disappeared to, but was unknowingly followed.

Alphonse did his best to find which way they had gone by following the sounds and occasional disturbed dust through all of the tunneling halls, but got off track many times. Only when he finally saw transmutation marks on a wall did he know he was in the right place. It wasn't as though Alphonse could follow, though. He didn't have anything to draw a transmutation circle with. But it didn't matter anyways because he was knocked out by the blood seal from behind. His metal body clanged to the floor.

* * *

><p>"What are you doing here?" I asked the man in front of me with a confused look, though I gazed past him upon the plains of Resembool.<p>

"I've come here to find someone," replied the man mysteriously. I could not see his face for the sun was glaring behind it.

"Who?" I still watched the grass sway. The man's face twisted into a long smile and he became level with my face. It suddenly became deathly dark and icy cold there on the road in front of the Rockbells' house. I shivered, seeing he had no face, only that smile.

_"Someone you desire but will never have."_

My eyes shot open. It had only been a nightmare, but I only awoke to be in another. A gun barrel was pressed to my aching head and I saw Ed's blurry outline ten feet below me—my glasses were long gone.

"If you want her to live you must tell me what you know," said the man holding a gun, with a long smile on his face.

Ed grinded his teeth but only shouted to me, "I'll find a way to get you out of this!"

Hashimoto cocked the gun. There was a rush of fright through me but I didn't make a sound or move. Slung over the metal guard's shoulder I couldn't.

Edward took a small step forward and I felt the barrel press closer.

"One more move, Fullmetal…" Hashimoto didn't have to finish, but Ed didn't heed his words. He stepped closer and an ear splitting bang was heard around the arena.


	10. The Shot to be Heard

Chapter 10: The Shot to be Heard

Alphonse heard the rattling of armor and sound of transmutation steps colliding with the ground, though he could see nothing. He felt nothing either, like always, but he did know he was moving. Or more so, he knew he was _being_ moved by something.

When he finally realized _why_ he couldn't see anything he began to shake.

He was literally in pieces. Each part of him was being carried separately, therefore he could not move or see. After some time he heard more transmutation sounds and the guards' steps slowed. Al was in an arena, the same one he had arrived in, and heard familiar voices.

"I'll find a way to get you out of this!" That was Ed's voice, but then Alphonse heard the also familiar sound of a gun cocking. Ed grew silent seeing his brother there as well. Taking a small step forward another familiar voice rang out.

"One more move, Fullmetal…" Hashimoto warned. Alphonse didn't need to see to know what was going on, but before he could do or say anything there was an earsplitting bang that could only mean one thing.

* * *

><p>I don't know why I did it. It was just an impulse. But as the blood splattered on my face and I fell the ground, not able to feel, hear, or see anything, it seemed as though it all happened in slow motion. Even I couldn't believe what I'd just done, but what was I supposed to do?<p>

All of Hashimoto's guards collapsed in heaps of rocks and minerals on the ground as soon as he fell. And now as I suddenly sat on the ground with a gun in my hand, I didn't know what to do.

I dared to take a glance at Ed.

"N… Nayru…" was all he said, and that's when I became scared. _Had I murdered him?_

I quickly glanced at Hashimoto's ridged figure on the ground, blood oozing out of his shoulder. He wasn't dead, was he? He couldn't be! I just nicked him in the shoulder!

I would have looked at Ed as he approached me, but I didn't even know he was there until he was crouching right in front of me. I jumped to suddenly see him so close to me, but he reached for the gun as soon as I saw him. Before he was mistaken I'd hold it forever—like Winry when she was about to shoot Scar—I hastily dropped it on the ground with a loud clank and clutched my hands in a ball against my chest, looking down at it like it was something evil.

Edward smiled at me and took my hands to himself.

"It's okay," he said smiling somberly, but happily. "It'll be alright."

"I know," I said. "I know it will be."

* * *

><p>As soon as Roy arrived, his personal assistant striding along right next to him, Alphonse ran up to them.<p>

I sat on the steps of the Menouthis train station by myself as medical assistance arrived for Hashimoto whom _I_ had subdued. I felt proud, but also at the same time terrible knowing I'd hurt someone. While Al told Roy of our findings—back in one piece again after a simple clap of Ed's hands—military soldiers went into the temple to investigate.

It seemed like forever until Edward finally came up to me and told me it was time to go. By that time the sun was already setting and most of the military soldiers were gone.

I boarded the train behind Riza Hawkeye once it arrived, but rather than heading down to the car where Edward, Roy, and Alphonse were, I just found the closest seat where I was and sat down. Riza opened the door of the car leading to the three Alchemists but seeing me sitting there alone she stopped.

"Aren't you coming too?" she asked. I looked up at her, but then back down at my empty hands as they rubbed my pants, which were still red with blood. Though I had been healed a long time ago it still hurt to walk.

"No, I think I'll stay here," I said to my lap as the train started to chug along. But Riza walked back to me.

"Why don't you want to come too? We won't bite," she said extending her hand out to me smiling. I chuckled. 'How is she so nice?' I asked myself.

"Okay," I said grasping her hand. She pulled me to my feet and led the way out of the car door and right into the next. Edward and Alphonse sat on one side of the privet car and Roy on the other. Riza let go of me and gave me a glance as she moved to sit next to Roy. I sat by Ed.

"Ah, good you are here," Roy greeted more to Riza than me, and I knew why.

"For starters, it seemed that mission—for the first mission—was much more difficult than expected. Though you were still able to detain Hashimoto and uncover his findings," Roy said. "Congratulations," he said nodding to the three of us, but with a bored expression that tried not to show how impressed he really was. Riza smiled to us.

"Yeah, yeah, thanks," Ed muttered then asked, "But what exactly _was_ it that Hashimoto was researching? I still don't know what exactly all of those metal guys he made were." He crossed his arms.

"They were his creations," Roy said plainly.

"Well I know that," Ed said. "I just don't know _how_ or _why_ he made them."

"Why he made them I cannot say," said Roy putting one hand to his chin. "But I think we now finally know how he was always able to avoid us so well.

"You say all of those metal soldiers were all reduced to dust as soon as Nayru injured Hashimoto, making him pass out, so what I believe is Hashimoto was always somehow commanding them. Even when he wasn't transmuting. But as soon as his guard was let down, they were nothing but minerals."

"He must be a pretty powerful Mineral Alchemist to be able to control all of those soldiers at once," Al cut in. "There were at least fifty of them!"

Edward and I nodded.

"So then how were they able to knock out Al when he's just a suit of armor?" I asked, but now everyone—except Ed—wondered how I knew Al was empty. Thankfully, Edward interrupted their thoughts.

"Yeah, how did they? And they also were able to travel in the ground, and follow Al. By doing so without him noticing. How did they do that?"

Roy leaned back against the train seat.

"It seemed that since they were made of metal and minerals in the ground that they, too, could move by themselves. But how they were alive without having a soul bound to them." He hesitated before adding, "like Al," but then seeing I wasn't alarmed at all continued. "I don't know. Unless the reality is just Hashimoto is one amazing Alchemist." He shrugged. Edward turned and looked out the window behind him.

"But I believe they were able to immobilize Al because since his blood seal has iron in it, that they just disordered the iron in the blood to, so-to-speak, paralyze him for however long they needed," Roy explained. "But that's just my theory." He shrugged again.

"Sounds reasonable…" Edward agreed still looking out of the window. He rubbed his chin in thought, but I could tell there was something else than Hashimoto on his mind.

* * *

><p>Once we arrived back in East City it was as though—even when in Amestris—we had been in another world for the past three days.<p>

To sleep in the military's hotel beds was heaven compared to being knocked unconscious every five minutes, and then sleeping somewhere cold, wet, damp, and depressing. Though, being observed by the military in my every move wasn't too much better.

Acting as though nothing had happened, as soon as we were done with the little paper work we had to fill out for our mission Ed raced straight back to the library. This time without anyone blocking our way, we marched straight to the "Military Storage Room" in the back of the library to research the military records on the Philosopher's Stone.

"There's… SO MANY!" Ed groaned as the women at the desk in the storage room directed us to the right area. "WHY ARE THERE SO MANY?"

"Sh! Quite, Ed!" hissed Al. "We're in the library!"

"So? It's not like anyone can hear us in here since we're in the back room!" Ed told him—I secretly agreed.

"'So?' We should still be quite!"

"Oh, _you_ be quite," Ed mumbled. "Alright, I'll search here, you search over there," Ed commanded, pointing to two sections of the shelves in the room.

"What about me?" I asked. Ed looked over his shoulder at me.

"Uh… just come and look with me," he said. Alphonse scoffed.

"How come you always get the helper?" he asked sarcastically. Ed turned back to him.

"Because _I'm_ the State Alchemist, not you," Ed said sticking his tongue out at Al as he closed his eyes. I giggled.

"Well what if Nayru doesn't _want_ to go with you?" Al asked. Ed gave him an unimpressed stare.

"She does," he said with bored eyes. I blushed at him knowing my feelings, but Al just shook his head as he walked to the section he was assigned.

"Okay, the Philosopher's Stone…" Ed muttered to himself as he leafed through a couple file folders on the shelves. I didn't dare touch any of them in case they'd fall apart in my hands and spill everywhere in disarray, so I just watched as Ed looked through them.

He must have found the file he was looking for, because he then sat down right where he was and was engrossed in the printed words.

I sat down next to him but there was nothing I could do. Finally Ed said, "Here, you look through these. I'm still trying to find the last appearance of what might be a Philosopher's Stone…" He trailed off as he handed me some papers, but then remembered he had been in mid-sentence and added, "Since there aren't that many records on it, that is. This is all there was."

I looked through the couple papers he gave me, seeing pictures of people and places, but no red stones.

Suddenly I gasped, making Ed lean over my shoulder.

"What is it?" he asked not believing I'd found something.

I pointed to a drawing of the city of Xerxes.

"Yeah, so?" he asked. "That city was wiped out a long time ago, I don't even know why it's…" but then he looked at the description closer as I had. He snatched it away from me as he read on and on. Finally he snapped his fingers and looked between the pages of the report as he read. "'The city of Xerxes was, as we know it, destroyed in one night by the greedy emperor of the city himself. To our knowledge the king craved what none should: immortality. Though we are unsure of how he believed this fantasy was possible, after the passing of the 'evil queen'—is what she is most referred as—or the empress of Xerxes, Amestris, the king believed that it was his destiny to become immortal and rule the empire of Xerxes forever.

"'With the 'evil queen' out of his way, the king was able to carve a circle around the whole city, and after sacrificing many lives to make a crest of blood at five of the outlining cities in the empire—all equally apart—he was ready to gain immortality.

"'With no one there who could stop him in fear of being killed, the king foolishly transmuted himself in the center of the circle, but failed, killing himself and everyone entrapped with him in the circle.

"'The thing that is believed the king desired was not only immortality, but indeed the Philosopher's Stone. The events that occurred after the transmutation are currently unknown, but we do know he was very close to achieving his goal.'" Ed finally looked up at me.

"So that's how the city of Xerxes was destroyed!" Ed exclaimed. "I knew it had something to do with the Philosopher's Stone, but I didn't know the king himself wanted it. And that he never actually succeeded…" He rubbed his chin.

"You don't know he didn't succeed," I said trying to give him a clue. Ed looked at me suspiciously.

"It never said he succeeded," Ed stated holding up the paper.

"Yeah, but it never said that he _didn't_ either," I said. Ed sighed and looked at me again.

"Alright, how much do you know about _this?_" he asked putting the papers aside and putting his head on his chin to look at him square in the face. "I suspect a lot?" He raised his eyebrows.

"Yes…" I murmured bending a fold out of the edge of one of the pages on my lap.

"Then why don't you tell me?" he asked. I said nothing. He scoffed. "Fine, I guess you'll tell me everything else—well _almost_ everything else—but about the Philosopher's Stone, no?" He peered at me through the corner of his eye. I turned back to him.

"What do you mean 'well _almost_ everything?'" I asked. I was surprised to see Ed turn a little red when I said this.

"Well—uh—" He scratched the back of his head but didn't look at me. Now I scoffed.

"Oh, Ed, why are you acting the way you do whenever anyone asks you if you love Winry?" I questioned with a touch of irony but nearly chocked myself as I said it. I was utterly astonished that I would say this, but then again I was surprised at myself for saying and doing many things lately.

Ed spun around toward me.

"Wha-wha-what?" he asked rather loud. I saw him trembling and sweating madly, which made me suppress a giggle… or was it a laugh? I looked at him.

"I'm sure you know what I mean," I said.

"But-but how do you know? You haven't ever been there when someone… when someone…" He didn't finish, finally I did laugh.

"Edward Elric," I started again, "I know more about you than you do. Trust me."


	11. Shattered

Chapter 11: Shattered

Ed was sucking to me. In fact, he had always been sucking up to me. From the day I arrived here—well, the moment I talked to him—until now he had known there was something about me that I wouldn't tell anyone. Well, anyone but_ him_. Or so we both thought.

Though I loved talking with Edward, and I loved having him around, and I loved everything he did, the way he talked, laughed, smiled, I always knew there was something about the way he was acting…

I knew it was fake. I knew it was a lie. I knew he didn't love me. I knew he only cared for me as a friend. I _also_ knew he loved Winry. But I didn't care… I couldn't help it. I got on his cozy side and I couldn't get out of it. But now, while researching I had a lot of time to think.

Why did Ed want to know my secret so much he was even willing to suck up to me to get it? Was he really that desperate to know? Why _me_ of all people? Could he tell there was something different about _my_ secret than other people?

…I didn't know for sure, but I did know I was starting to get tired of it.

He, Winry, and Al could always talk to each other so happily; they had known each other their whole lives. But me… I was the outsider. Not like I had never been the outsider before, I just wasn't used to someone trying to get information out of me so bad.

I didn't like it. Even though I did… I didn't like it because I knew all of it was fake.

Why had I let this go so far for so long? Now if I just started acting mad it wouldn't make any sense. We were always talking during our research in the library; why would I all of a sudden ignore Edward and Alphonse? Just because I was _jealous?_

Many things had happened to me, but_ this_ had never happened.

_I was jealous of another girl?_ Even more humiliating, I was jealous of another girls' _love?_

I didn't know what to think: it was so shocking to me. I had always been against love, but now… now it hurt, just like I always told myself it would.

That hurt I felt sank deep into me, though I had known it was coming. I couldn't take it anymore. No matter how charming Ed was or how forgiving, I had to, just _had_ to do something to get back at him… but what?

What I didn't know was I would soon be given the perfect chance. Even when it was horrible to do, I didn't know it would be, and I hadn't intended it to be either. No matter how angry I was…

* * *

><p>Alphonse could tell there was something going on between Nayru and Ed. He saw the way Nayru looked at Ed lately—instead of admiration and thought, anger, and even sorrow it seemed…<p>

Something was going on, and even when Alphonse was supposed to be focusing on researching the Philosopher's Stone or going on errands he couldn't help but think about it. That was the only thing that kept him from thinking about _'that thing'_—as Ed called it, though Alphonse had no idea what he was talking about—but even Nayru's problems seemed a bit more troubling now.

He didn't know how she thought like he did Ed. Edward was his brother, he knew everything there was to know about him, but Nayru was a closed book to him.

She never spoke her feelings to _anyone_. She barely even spoke to Al, but that didn't mean she wasn't nice. Al wanted to help her. He needed to talk to her alone. Somewhere Edward wasn't so she didn't feel pressured.

Al came up with his plan. Not a very complicated one, but the best one there was—or so he thought at the time.

* * *

><p>"Why is there never anything at the library?" Edward screamed like he did every day to me—it was getting annoying.<p>

"I don't know," I answered sourly. He didn't notice.

"Every time we come here to research they never seem to have anything. Ever since we found that report on Xerxes that's all there's been!"

"You mean the report _I_ found on Xerxes?" I asked shooting him a glare. He still didn't see.

Then he _did_ look at me but I pretended to be absorbed in another report. He didn't say anything, though I knew he wanted to ask. Hell yes, he wanted to ask me many things, but he was only cozy with me for me to tell him the information that he wanted, since he didn't want to say it himself.

He kept staring. I always hated it whenever anyone stared at me.

"What?" I asked a bit more annoyed than I meant it to sound.

He looked away. I saw him open his mouth as if he was about to finally ask, but he just stood up and walked behind the shelf before he could. My gaze slowly traveled back down to the carpet, but when Al came around the corner I looked quickly up.

"Hey, Nayru," He seemed kind of stressed as he asked, "I, uh, need to go to the store since we are out of food. Want to come with me?"

Normally I would have said no to stay with Edward—and I hated shopping—but this time I just wanted to get out the library, and I could tell Al wanted to talk to me about someone. And I needed to tell _someone_, so I decided to talk to him this time.

"Yeah, sure," I breathed out as I stood. "So which store we going to?"

"Just the normal one," Al answered without looking at me. "Brother, we're going to the store. We'll be back in a minute, kay?"

Edward blinked.

"But I thought you didn't like to go shopping?" Ed asked looking at me. I was surprised he knew this and felt guilty about what I was about to do, but said nothing.

"I just want to get out of the library," I said, back to him as I walked for the door. As I turned around to wait for Al, I saw Edward raise an eyebrow to him, but Al just waved him off.

"You keep searching for the Philosopher's Stone, brother," Al said walking up to me. Ed stood up and stretched.

"Fine, fine, just leave me here." Though his voice tried to sound bittersweet his face showed he couldn't wait for what Al was going to tell him when we got back.

I wondered still about telling Al. He'd surely tell Edward.

* * *

><p>Nayru and Alphonse promenaded casually across the streets of East City as the orange sun cast intense colors on the buildings and reflected off the glass. They said nothing, but people stared as the pair passed and finally when they turned into an empty area Alphonse stopped. He had to ask his question.<p>

"Nayru, what's going on with you and Ed?" He asked this so straight forward Nayru couldn't refuse acknowledging him.

Though she knew Al would press on, she answered, "It's nothing that you should be concerned about," as she looked at the bright cement sidewalk.

"Why not? I see the way you've been looking at Ed for the last month… Does it have something to do with our mission?" he asked, even though he didn't think this was the answer.

"No—well, kind of…"

Al waited.

"Nothing about what Hashimoto did has anything to do with it, but just…" she trailed off.

"Neither you nor brother ever said what exactly happened while you two were in the sewer together," Alphonse said as he eyed her. Nayru jolted around to stare at Alphonse with fear in her eyes—Al could see it.

"What happened…?" he hesitated to ask. Nayru sighed.

'She's just like Big Brother,' Al thought. 'She always keeps her thoughts to herself, but when someone asks she can't just ignore them…'

"Let's just say we kind of had… _interesting_ conversations." Nayru started keeping her stare away from Al's metal face. "Edward wouldn't want me talking about them to you."

Alphonse still waited.

"It's what we were talking about!" Nayru said quickly seeing Al staring at her. "Nothing more than words!" Al didn't believe her.

"Something happened in there, but you won't tell anybody. Why?"

"Because—" Nayru couldn't finish her sentence. Alphonse could see the look in her eyes, what she was thinking. She…

"Do you…?" Alphonse asked slowly. Nayru stopped in her tracks. Alphonse couldn't see her face. Her eyes were hidden by the shadow her blonde hair cast in the light.

"I heard him… say Winry's name…" Nayru said her face still to the ground. She and her voice were shaking. "While we were alone underground," Finally she looked up. "When he was hurt, and I was there for him… all he could say was 'Winry'…" Her eyes were filled of water, she jerked her head away and Alphonse saw tears fall to the ground.

"I knew love would hurt…" she whispered. "Why didn't I listen to myself…?"

* * *

><p>"What's taking them so long?" Edward whispered absent-mindedly to himself as he read the same lines over and over again on the same report: 'The thing that is believed the king desired was not only immortality, but indeed the Philosopher's Stone.' He tried to see the meaning in that single report, but he saw nothing. Perhaps Nayru would be able to help him when she got back, even though they'd both looked over it many times and she always just pushed it away after two seconds of reading… What was going through her mind? Did she want to know something? Or was it something that no one could help?<p>

"Oh well," Ed exhaled with a sigh. Then he read on.

'The events that occurred after the transmutation are currently unknown, but we do know he was very close to achieving his goal.'

'Currently unknown? What does that mean? They know everything about what happened in Xerxes but what happened right after?' Edward scoffed and looked up to see a startled librarian carrying some books to the other room.

"Oh, I'm sorry, did I disturb you?" she asked in a quiet voice and getting pink cheeks.

"No, that's fine I…" Edward saw the room she was carrying books to, didn't have military records in it, but old tattered books with many loose pages and fragile fading binding.

"Wait, what's that room?" Ed sprang up to stand next to her, leaving the report on the ground.

"What?" She looked even pinker. "Uh—uh—" She seemed lost. "This is where we put all of the old books people aren't allowed to read because they're falling apart." She was clearly lying, but Ed didn't want to get in a fight with a librarian right now so he just sighed and retreated back to the report papers still lying on the floor.

'The events that occurred after the transmutation are currently unknown…'

The door to the military storage squeaked loudly, and as Edward looked up he saw a dazed Al. He walked as though there were someone controlling inside him. If Al had had facial expressions Ed was sure he'd look pale and stunned.

"What happened? Where's Nayru?" Ed asked immediately jumping to his feet. Al didn't answer.

"Where is she?" he demanded again, pushing his brother though he didn't move. Finally Al looked at him, straight in the eye.

"Nayru has something she wasn't telling us…" he spoke softer than a whisper.

"What? What do you mean?" Edward pushed; Alphonse just kept staring.

"What, Al? That she—that she—" Edward swallowed.

"No, not that…" he said slowly.

"Then what? Spit it out, Al!"

"…Nayru's from another world."


	12. Knives and Shadows

Chapter 12: Knives and Shadows

I fast-walked as hastily as I could back to the military dorm, wiping my damp cheeks as I went. My vision was still blurred since I had left my glasses in the sewer, and we hadn't had time to go to an eye doctor and get new ones we were so busy. But right now I didn't need to see to get away, because that's all I wanted to do. I just wanted, _needed_, to get away from them—Ed and Al. Away from them, and this whole world.

I needed to go home. What was I even doing here? The only reason I'm staying, and now that has been crushed.

Why did I have to go and tell Al all of my secrets? _I_ don't even know why I had…

My legs rose to a run as tears slipped down my face and onto the sidewalk, becoming dark pools from the blackness in my heart.

The arising twilight made it dark. So dark I almost couldn't see. But I knew the way back, I had walked it about a million times with Edward in the dark after being in the library for all of the hours of the day.

'Why couldn't those days have continued?' I asked myself, wondering why the water coming out of my eyes wouldn't stop. Finally, yet suddenly, I was at the right building, but I couldn't get myself to open the door. I couldn't go inside all by myself.

I stood there until the golden tips of the trees turned black. Sirens wailed in the distance which startled me.

I stopped myself from shedding anymore tears before going inside, though as the light inside blinded me, I saw the people at the front desk watching me with inquiring expressions. They were probably wondering why my face was soaked.

I quickly tried to wipe the remaining water away, but saw the faint line of an old gash on my palm before I could. It was from the sharp stone that had been on the ground when I was stuck in the sewer with Ed. My eyes welled again at the pleasant heart-filled memories, but I made sure not to cry anymore. I rushed up to my room and threw myself on the bed towards the window as though I was going to get to sleep, but I knew I couldn't…

* * *

><p>Edward had never been more furious in his life at someone besides himself. He kept his swift pace to the military dorms, but he still couldn't get there fast enough. Al, on the other hand was still so shocked he could barely move.<p>

Why hadn't she told him before? Why would _she_ be the angry one? She's the one who lied! She's the one who didn't see it…

'Oh, Nayru,' Ed thought to himself. He shook his head. 'Why?'

In his head Edward felt pain and betrayal, but in his feelings he felt hot and angry. Why would she tell Alphonse, his brother, whom she seldom even talked to, and not himself that she had been with since the day of her arrival? She did love him, didn't she? Then why would she do this? Why would she lie to him, but tell his brother everything? Nothing made sense and that's what bothered Ed. He had to find out for sure why—that's why he was running so fast.

He heard Al behind him, so far back he barely heard him at all.

"Ed! Ed, wait! Don't do what you are about to! We can talk about this!"

Edward didn't really know what he was talking about, and he didn't care.

He hit the entrance door so hard splinters flew off. He hadn't meant to be destructive, but oh well.

"Sir? Sir!"

He heard many people along with Al yelling at him as he flew up the main flight of stairs. He smashed open another door.

* * *

><p>As though it were rehearsed, Edward stomped into the room as soon as I lay my head on the pillow. He gave me a glare that told me all I needed to know: our friendship was over.<p>

"Why'd you tell Al?"

He screamed right in my face as I sprang away from the covers. Neither he nor I were taller than the other, we were the exact height. And yet I felt smaller than the dust under the bed.

"Why would you do that?" he yelled again. "Why would you lie to me?" His voice trembling now and I saw him struggling to keep his face in an angry pose.

"Be-because…"

I couldn't look him in the eye any longer and looked to the floor.

"Because I… I…" I didn't finish. The tears came again and now I could only sit there and let them run down my face. But I didn't run away. I couldn't. I had to face my fears, my anger, my pain, and my sorrow, all in one room at that one moment.

I looked Ed in the face, straight on, nothing in between our contact. Not Al, the nosy people shifting at the door, or even Winry. It was only Ed and I, and I'm sure I didn't have to say anything for him to suddenly understand me and me him.

"I knew it was stupid," I whispered. "I knew you weren't real but something told me you existed, even if only in a fantasy world. I always knew I liked you, but I never thought I'd…" I shook my head as if I ran out of words.

"And now I'm here, with you, with Al, with _Winry_, and I see how real it all is. Everything exists somewhere, whether it's made-up or not. If it can be thought of, it exists…"

I gave a small sob.

"And now that I finally see that, I've ruined it. The first time I had a real…"

Now I was going to be a coward. I ducked my headed for the door. Ed tried to intersect me but I pushed him down to the floor. He collided on the shining wood with a loud screech from his automail.

Before I left, I saw his face as I dashed out the door.

* * *

><p>I don't know why I ran away. I was doing the very thing I said I wouldn't.<p>

_I _was_ the coward now…_

It was so dark now I didn't even know where I was going and didn't care. I kept seeing Ed's face whenever I looked. Then I started imagining something I hadn't in many months now. When the two brothers wanted to be able to see their mother's smile again…

I imagined all of the pain, the emotion, the empathy, the sorrow. The thoughts that must have been going through Ed's head, the feeling of being left alone, the blood, the horror, and the love…

He'd lost Al that night, and basically his mother too… But he had been able to bring Al back by trading a part of his body.

Who could do that besides Edward? No one. Not one person I could think of. Not even Arakawa-sensei herself would claim to be able to do such a thing.

I took turns, slowed down on one street and sped up again on the next, but I never looked behind me to see if I was being followed. Not once. I didn't care if someone was following me or not. It could have been Pride for all I cared at that moment, as long as it wasn't Edward…

* * *

><p>Edward scraped his metal elbow on the floor as he got up leaving a mark that probably couldn't be removed, but he didn't even notice. He ran fast to the door to try and catch Nayru. He didn't care if his automail was acting up—there must have been another storm coming.<p>

The first door was already open for him to get through easily, but Ed didn't see Nayru in the lobby as he looked over the balcony and rushed down the stairs. He didn't even notice Al or all of the people gathered at the doorway of his room either. They had dark faces aligned with shadows but he didn't see them.

Some of the people held pieces of the front door, and as Edward ran down to it again others were taking the door off of its hinges. He merely barged past again scattering more long shards of wood.

"Hey! Brother!" Alphonse called. Edward heard him, but didn't pay him any thought at all.

The night was cold. No one was in the dark foggy streets. Ed looked both ways but didn't see any sign of her.

Almost scaring himself, he screamed. "NAYRU!"

Even he wasn't sure if he was more angry or sad of her misconception to him. He just needed to find her.

"NAYRU?" He tried to sound a bit more friendly than desperate and angry, but he still got nothing for an answer. Al came behind him.

"Brother…" he started smoothly, almost disturbingly in Ed's mind at a time like this. "Brother, she isn't anywhere near here anymore."

Edward shook his head. Without even looking at his brother he bolted off in the direction she probably went—right.

She always said she liked right better than left, even though whenever she went right she only ever found out it was left she should have gone. He turned right again down the first alley. Alphonse still couldn't keep up with him.

"Hey! Brother! Ed! Don't go too far without me! I'm going to lose you too!"

Edward didn't listen. He kept to the path his mind set for him. Al's shouts grew so distant it was as though they were part of the wind, and the shadows…

* * *

><p>I tripped.<p>

After falling flat on my face I stayed on the ground to listen to me wheezing. …I could never keep friends. We'd always get into a fight and move on as though we'd never known each other at all, even at home…

But now it was different. I was stuck in another world with nowhere else to go but back to the people I was trying to get away from.

I heard the diminished yell of someone. It was Edward.

'No… not him. Anyone but him…'

I groaned to my surprise as I slowly stood up and put my hand to my face. I felt a nose, and looked to see a red liquid dripping from the tip.

I looked around as the shouts grew louder. I was sitting in a back alley, but somehow it was rather bright with the moon reflecting off of the metal garbage canisters.

I wiped my nose, but then realized I couldn't breathe anymore. I blew out a large splotch on the ground, and as though entranced stared at it for no reason at all.

"Nayru!"

Ed's voice sounded sharp.

I quickly stood and sprinted for the alley I had been heading for before I had fallen—which seemed like ages ago. I stumbled again; my foot was stuck on something. I spun around to see a cord. It was twisted around my ankle. I pulled free, the cord dangling behind my feet with me as I continued down the alley. But I never got to the end. Not knowingly, anyway.

A shadow stepped in front of me.

Before I could do anything, anything at all, I ran into its knife.

* * *

><p>"Nayru! Nayru, where are you?" I repeated her name until my voice couldn't utter another sound. Alphonse wasn't even in the vicinity anymore. As though it called to me, I skidded to stop at the last turn. Something was a glitter on the black pavement in the center of a circle of dumpsters.<p>

I ambled slowly to it. It was blood. I followed the speckled trail, afraid of what I would find, but I only found a slightly bigger pool at the end of the alley across from the one I had come through first. Here, the light ended, and I dared not go further.

"NAYRU!" I called one last time before giving up. I didn't get a yell back, but something else, something like a tap on the head. I looked up but saw nothing.

I was about to try and call again, until I did hear an answer.

"And who is this?"

I didn't know who or what was talking, it was so dark I couldn't even see what was past the small pool of blood at my feet. There were no street lamps in the shady areas of East City. This made me a little nervous.

"Wh-who was that?" I cried into the darkness. The outline of a shadow showed itself. It had a hood over its face so no one could see it and was holding—

"Wha—Who are you?" I stepped back ready to fight, but all I got was an evil laugh that knocked in my head. The figure set the body it was holding down. Something else showed in the shadow's grip; it blurred.

Thinking fast, I clapped my hands and transmuted my forearm into a giant disk. It blocked the knife thrown by the kidnapper. The shadow was taken aback.

"Hm… I guess you are as tough as they say…"

It contemplated what to do next, but I wasn't going to wait around. I put the metal in my arm back to normal. The knife dropped to the ground. I was about to clap a spear out of the wall when something held me back, something held my metal arm behind me. I turned to look but by then it had gone and when I looked back to the front I found a knife in my side.

* * *

><p>The shadow laughed again at Edward's stupidity as it picked up the dark blond-haired girl it had acquired.<p>

"Leave her… alone…" Edward sputtered from the ground, angry at being stuck in this position—again. He got on his knees.

"Still trying to fight, are you?"

The shadow walked over to Ed's struggling body. Edward saw it really _was_ Nayru.

Blood dripped from her long hair. Her eyes were clouded. A cord was wrapped so tightly around her wrists and ankles they seeped shining red too.

"Nayru…"

Shadow kicked the blade in its victim hard. Ed cringed back in a ball.

"Don't come after us if you know what's good for you."

It stepped back.

"Time to go," Shadow said this as though talking to someone.

"No… Nay… ru…"

Edward's chin hit the cold pavement as he saw the shadow walk away with the girl. There was something else following them too…


	13. Things Gone Wrong

Chapter 13: Things Gone Wrong

"No… Nayru… I can't be with you…"

My eyes shot open. I had been dreaming again…

* * *

><p>"ED!" Alphonse screamed. "ED? NAYRU?" It all seemed so familiar, as though this had happened before.<p>

"ED? BROTHER?"

Al stopped yelling for a moment to listen.

"E—"

He heard something—it sounded weak. Al couldn't tell if the voice was Ed's or Nayru's… or was it even either of theirs? He bolted as fast as his metal legs could carry him towards the voice to find Edward lying on the ground in the center of a lit up dumpster yard. Blood was dragged behind him but he was not conscious.

"Ed!" Al crouched down by him. His metal arm was around his stomach, holding the hilt of a curve-blade knife.

As Al picked him up, he breathed the same words over and over again with the same pained expression on his face.

"I'm sorry…" was all he could say. "I'm sorry…"

Where was she…?

* * *

><p>The world was a dark place… But it could was also be beautiful, light, and happy… This was not one of those times.<p>

Against the shoulder blade of a shadow, the hook-curved knife only dug its way farther into my chest, but I couldn't make any sound or shed anymore tears. I had already wasted them all.

There was something following behind me and the shadow that was carrying me, but I could only hear the sound of its slithering feet.

I must have made a sound when the shadow hauled me higher on his back, because he asked, "Hm? You're awake still?"

The voice of him was low and surprised, but I couldn't do anything to reply.

"Don't worry, we're almost there." He sounded anxious and almost worried…

My hands were tied in front of the shadow's face and felt slippery from hot blood, but I had no strength to be able to lean closer, or even hold myself up. The shadow was doing all of the work. My legs hung below me, and I was surprised I wasn't choking my captor with all of my weight on his neck. Though, he did seem to be wheezing slightly from my weight since he wasn't much bigger than me. The hood pulled over his head seemed much too big for his head. All I could see was the back of his dark silky brown coat.

Oh, how I would have loved to pull it down to see his face.

He stopped.

"We're here," he said softly, then turned his head so far I saw his round pale nose. "Open the door," he said to the creature behind us. It hissed something that I didn't hear and came around front to open the door that creaked more like a gate.

The sign above the _door_, read a name in scarlet letters: Kalki.

We entered a giant old mansion. The footsteps of the shadow knocked around the walls, but the other's slithered through as though we were the only solid objects in the whole place.

"Where is he…?" Shadow muttered to the empty sound. They kept walking forward. Another shadow stood at the top of the stairs.

"Don, where's the master?" I peered over the captor's shoulder; the knife drew in even deeper. The other man standing there had a hood over his eyes as well. I only saw the bottom half of his face before I winced back behind the shadow's shoulder. He carried me up the many thin stairs to stand next to the other man. I saw now the other shadow called Don had a blonde head like any other Amestrian, but the other creature that wasn't holding me was still behind us so I could not see him.

"He's on the top floor waiting for you," Don answered in a hush. "Do you have her?" He cocked his head towards me and tried to make the shadow stop, but he kept moving when the creature behind us snapped, "Hurry up! We don't want to keep him waiting, do we?" There was a hiss on every word.

"I know," said Don. "I just wanted to make sure. You _did_ get the right person, right?"

"Yes, yes!" Shadow said sharply. "I did get the right person. I'm sure of it."

"Did you have any difficulties at all?" Don asked watching him. Shadow hesitated.

"Yes… there was a boy who must have followed her when she ran into me in the alley."

"_She_ ran into _you?_" Don inquired astonished. The thing behind us started to hiss impatiently, but the pair paid it no mind.

"Yes, actually. She didn't seem to notice me that is, until she ran into my knife."

"What idiot runs into a knife without noticing?" Don laughed coldly. I thought I saw the dust on the walls swirl around at his volume.

"You know she's awake, right?"

"Yes… I know. But why should we care?"

"Be quiet, both of you!" the creature whispered. "Master doesn't want to hear you two bickering with each other."

Shadow cast the slithering creature a sideways glance, but said nothing. They kept walking.

Finally Don whispered, "So who was this boy? Did he say?"

Shadow let out a huge breath.

"No, but I knew he was the Fullmetal Alchemist." He said this in a high voice for a man.

"The Fullmetal Alchemist? Is that the Alchemist who became a dog of the military when he was only 12?" Don asked incredulously.

"Yes, that's him."

"He's supposed to be very talented… So why couldn't he take you out?"

"He was alone and I was only able to stab him after Ebla distracted him."

"Ebla showed himself to him?"

"No…" the creature behind us said. "I just held his arm back for a moment to distract him. I assure you, he didn't even see me," Ebla said a little disgusted. "He was quite dumb, actually, to let down his guard with an enemy close, even if only for a second."

Don said nothing.

"So do you think you killed him?" Ebla asked Shadow. I imagined his dark face—if he had one—sneering like Truth's.

Shadow slowed his pace as if trying to calm himself.

"No," he said rather sharply. "I think there was someone else following him. I heard something clanking right before I was out of sight."

"Really?" Ebla inquired. "I didn't hear anything…"

"That's because you were talking," Shadow said, ignoring him. A large dark brown wood door came into my blurred view. They all stopped.

"Who's going in first?" Ebla asked softly, but the door opened on its own, and another voice came from inside.

"All of you can come in together," said a low voice. Shadow twitched slightly surprised at hearing his voice. The knife went deeper still. Everyone paused before walking in, and I gave a small sob as I realized I was still here, and this wasn't a dream.

A man stood in front of a grand fireplace in a large room. This was the only area with furniture, heat, and wasn't covered in filth or dust.

"Is that her?" he asked immediately seeing me.

"Yes, sir," Shadow answered quietly. The man came to inspect me. He took a long time staring at me up and down. I stared back at him with terrified eyes.

"She looks scared…" he murmured. I wasn't sure if to himself or to Shadow.

"Yes, sir."

"Why?"

"She was taken away from her friends and kidnaped, sir. Why wouldn't she be?"

The man nodded. "You are right. I would be too…" This didn't make me feel any better.

"So, uh, Nayru is it?" The man suddenly asked loudly as though thinking I was deaf.

I didn't answer.

"Can you understand me?" he asked.

I still didn't answer. The man looked past Don, Shadow, and I.

"Can she understand us?" he asked Ebla.

"Yes," Ebla said simply.

"Then why isn't she answering?" The low-voiced man looked from me to Ebla.

"Because she doesn't want _us_ to know that," Ebla said.

The man turned away and rubbed his chin. "Hm… set her down."

Shadow walked over to the fireplace. I thought he was going to throw me in it for a second, but then he placed me sitting down on the tile in front of it. Shadow stepped back and I saw most of his face for once. His eyes were bright, shining blue, and even though his face was in an uncomfortable pose, he looked kind and even sympathetic. The brown silky coat dragged below his ankles, and I could only barely see his black large-bottomed shoes.

Now the other man came low to me, his green eyes flicked to the knife in my lower chest. I could only see his face, for dizziness taunted around in my tired head. I was so tired I had to hold myself up with my bound bloody hands so I didn't fall over. Surely everyone could see this.

"You are dying…" the man said. I tried to look him in the face without fear, but didn't succeed. "But we need you alive."

Before I could ask why, he beckoned to someone and withdrew.

I didn't see the face that came close to me, but I did feel something start to slither around my arms and legs. Once it was around my whole body, I felt a little tweak on the handle of the blade in me.

The creature easily forced me to lie on my side against the cold tile and yanked.

I could feel blood spewing out, but I couldn't even move. I was sucked into the darkness of a twisted face before I screamed in pain. The face that was in front of me had glowing pink eyes and was smiling with white gleaming teeth.

* * *

><p>I put my hands to my head and rubbed my eyes as I sat up. It was so light.<p>

"Uhg…" I grasped my hurting side. I must have passed out in the alley. Suddenly I remembered.

"Nayru!" I tried to jump up, but noticed I had no idea where I was. The bed wasn't familiar. The covers that lay upon it weren't either. Nor the table, that as I looked at it I saw had a tray and a bloody curved knife on it.

Where was I?

I looked around. The window next to my bed had buildings behind it, and I heard the muffled sound of rushing people outside my door. I was in a hospital.

"No…" I moaned. "Not now… Nayru needs… Uhg…" the pain shot farther. On top of that my metal arm hurt. There must have been a horrible wind storm last night with all of the fallen branches of trees I could see outside the window.

I had to get up. I had to find Nayru. But no one was there to help me. I had to do this alone as I always had.

I tried to stand again. This time I got up but landed on the floor with some pillows. I had nearly crawled to the door as Al opened it.

"Brother!" he screamed as soon as he saw me. "What are you doing?"

"Nayru's been kidnapped!" I yelled. "We have to…" I tried not to make it look like I was in pain but I'm sure Al could see it.

"Ed, get back in bed!" Al commanded. I ignored him so he picked me up and _carried_ me back in bed.

"What the hell are you doing, Al? Nayru's been abducted, and you're just going to sit here and—" Al interrupted.

"I've already told the military," Al said. "They are looking for her right now, and they want to see if you have any idea who did it."

I took a deep breath.

"Have they found anything?"

I could see Alphonse thinking about what to say.

"Well… not really…"

"'Not really?'" I asked. "What does 'not really' mean?"

Al was taking too long.

"Is she okay or not?" I hadn't meant it to come out that way. What I meant to have said was, "Have you found anything or not?" but too late now.

"We haven't found her, brother," Al said quietly. I tried not to gasp.

"…Have you found _anything?_" I pushed.

"No. They were only able to follow a blood trail to the edge of East City. After that, it led into the forest where it sunk into the dirt last night…"

I didn't know what to say. I turned away to look out the window.

"I'm sorry, brother!" Al said frantically. "I couldn't get there fast enough to help you because you were running so fast."

I didn't care now.

"How long have I been out?" I asked as gently-sounding as I could.

"The night, that's all."

"Then I've already wasted enough time." I turned back to look at Al. "We need to go find her. Find out how long I have to be here before I can get out. I can't just sit around and wait."

Al didn't move.

"Go! We have to find her!" I cried. Al gave me a reproachful look before dashing out. I put my hands to my head, and only then remembered I had an arm made of steel when its cold finger tips touched my forehead…

I was the Fullmetal Alchemist and yet I couldn't even save one little girl…


	14. Mission Two

Chapter 14: Mission Two

"You want to go look for her?" Roy raised an eyebrow.

"You heard me," Edward said leaning on Roy's desk. Roy sat back and sighed.

"And why should I let you do that? You are still bound by your contract as dog of the military, you know."

Edward leaned back too as he closed his eyes and crossed his arms.

"I know that. I didn't sneak out of hospital for people to tell me things I already know." He then stared at Roy with a serious face. "This is personal. I need to find her, and I'm going to with your permission or not."

Roy sighed again.

"You know you will be kicked off of the State Alchemist military line of order, right? Then you and your brother won't have access to—"

"I told you, I know!" Ed yelled. "If you would just assign this mission to me, then I wouldn't be disobeying orders. And then I might also be able to save Nayru's life!"

Roy thought about it.

"Fine, fine, I guess I can't argue with you there. If there is a citizen's life at hand then I would be held accountable for her death, just like you would be for disobeying orders. I'll give you this job."

"Good!" Edward turned around. "Then we'll be going now before—"

"But, only if you are sure to get this job done quickly," Roy interrupted. "The last one took you too long."

"What do you mean? We were only three days with the case on Hashimoto." Ed blinked. Alphonse sat and listened to them argue quietly. He couldn't stop those two even if he wanted to. "And it's not like you had another mission waiting for us when we returned. You even said yourself that for our first mission it was—"

"That doesn't matter. It's only what the military suspects out of you. Now, since that was your first mission, then you were excused. But this one will have to be a little more uptight, especially since it's a kidnaping case. If you don't return in a certain amount of time, we will assume you dead."

Al twitched. Ed gulped.

"So… how much time do we have?" he asked as though he was being strangled.

"24 hours."

"'24 hours?'" Edward shrieked. Al gasped. "Who'd be able to capture a criminal and rescue a victim in only 24 hours?"

"That's why I don't want you to have this mission. It's too hard for you to be assigned a kidnaping so soon. And," Roy paused and braced for the answer back he was going to get from this comment. "You probably wouldn't be able to make it anyways," he said.

"What are you saying?" Edward screamed. "That it's hopeless?"

Roy scratched his ear.

"No, I'm just saying that most kidnaping cases don't end in success. More likely than not all they find is a note and a dead body."

Ed turned away from him.

"Well that isn't going to be this case. This time we are going to find her alive, and bring the kidnaper to justice. No matter what you, or the rest of the military thinks!" Ed's voice rose.

"That may be true," Roy said, standing up. "But I wouldn't be so sure just yet if I were you. You never know what could be lurking around the corner." He walked around to the front of his desk. "You never know when _you_ might be the next one to go missing. Even if she _is_ still alive, you need to be careful."

* * *

><p>"Can you believe the Colonel?" Ed gave a frustrated holler as he and Al hurried along one of the peaceful walkways through the courtyards in East City. "Who does he think he's talking to? Of course we'll find Nayru alive!"<p>

Al wasn't as sure as him.

"Well, Ed," Edward knew what it meant when Al got that tone. "You know she could be—"

"Or course she _could_ be dead, but I don't want to think about that. We'll find her. We have to…"

Ed stopped. Al saw his face scrutinized at the ground as he held his stomach.

"You really should still be in the hospital, you know," Al said. "You aren't—"

"I know I'm not healed yet!" Ed snapped at him. "I just… we have to find her." He suddenly looked up, and kept moving still clutching himself around the waist.

"But where are we going to start?" Al asked. Ed scoffed.

"Where she was last seen, obviously."

"Which is…? The beginning of the forest on the edge of the city?" Al inquired.

"No." Ed blew a small raspberry. "In the alley I saw that creepy shadow guy take her…"

"Why?" Al now did stop. Edward ran into him and nearly clocked over.

"Ow!" He rubbed himself. "What do you mean 'why?'" Edward asked.

"Why wouldn't we start where the blood trail ended?"

"Because then I can see what route they took to see if they stopped anywhere!" Ed explained, almost getting angry at his brother for him not knowing this. "It's so simple, anyone would think of it!" Edward looked around for the way back to the military dorm hotel.

"No it isn't…" Al muttered, watching Ed's back as he rushed off back to the main streets, still clutching his stomach.

"It's gone…" Edward said crouching down to the dried blood pool he had found at the end of alley the night before. He put his hand to his mouth as Alphonse came up behind him.

"What's gone?"

"The kidnaper threw a knife at me that I blocked before he stabbed me, but now it's gone…" He looked up and Al. "Did the military say they found any weapons?"

Al thought for a moment as he swayed.

"I don't think so…" Ed looked back down at the brown blood splotch. "Maybe the kidnaper took it with him before he left," Al suggested.

Edward shook his head to the ground.

"No, I don't think so. Before I passed out I saw him walking away. I'm pretty sure he wouldn't risk coming back here to get a knife. And you said you came and found me in the middle of the dumpsters?"

"Yeah." Al didn't see what he was getting at.

"But I was stabbed here at the end of the alley," Ed said pointing. "I blacked out here too. I didn't… _crawl_ to the area over there where you said you found me like you thought I had. I must have been dragged there."

"But you said you saw the kidnaper walk away. If he walked away, unless he came back how did you get there?"

Ed looked up at him again.

"What you and the military don't know, is that there was also another with the shadow guy. I wasn't able to see what it was, though. I don't know what it was. As soon as I came here looking for Nayru, I felt something touch my head, but when I looked up there was nothing…" Alphonse watched Ed to see what he was trying to say. "And then after I blocked the first knife, I had the same feeling, except it was holding back my arm so I couldn't transmute. That's how they got me." Ed hesitated before adding. "And it also felt kind of familiar—the feeling I got from that thing. It was the same as… _that thing._"

Ed shuddered. Al still had no idea what he was talking about.

"'That thing?'"

Ed was about to ask, "Yeah, didn't you see it?" but then he remembered he had already.

"Yeah… you didn't see it…"

"…Well, what was it?"

Edward didn't want to talk about it right now.

"It doesn't matter right now," Al rolled his yellow orbs of eyes around in his metal head. "Let's just find Nayru." Ed stood up and looked around the area. Alphonse helped him. Al tipped over a dumpster noisily, then yelled, "Brother! Over here!"

Edward rushed over.

"What? Did you find s…?" He saw what Al was holding.

"ANOTHER CAT?" he screamed. "HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU? WE _CAN'T_ HAVE A CAT!"

Al covered the cat's small ears.

"Don't listen to him! He doesn't mean it!"

Edward growled.

"I _do_ mean it! We are on a mission here! You can't keep it!" Ed pointed to the main street with his ungloved right hand. "Now put it back!"

"No! I don't have to do what you say! I'll—"

"Al," Ed stared at him, glaring, but with a calm voice. "We can't keep it. Now put it back. We are on a mission."

Al bowed his head and strode back out to the main street as instructed. But he didn't return. Edward didn't want to go chasing after him, so he just kept looking. He searched through the scattered garbage, but found nothing.

Finally he walked back to the end of the alley and looked upon the area he hadn't been able to see last night when Nayru was.

Ed was disgusted at himself for letting her be kidnapped, especially right in front of him.

Even during the day the area was dark, but there wasn't anything to see behind here except some old cords. Ed looked to the ground to see drops of blood.

He waited another second for Al to return, but then knowing he was probably trying to find another owner for the cat, decided to go without him. He followed the trail of red droplets through worming alleys, and the small cracks in fences and walls. As he went farther he saw the drops getting bigger and more spread out; the kidnaper must have quickened his pace. Edward, too, ran along with the trail faster and faster, as though thinking Nayru would be waiting for him at the end. Then the trail stopped right at the wall of a building…

Edward looked both ways for the rest, but when he found nothing he wondered how the military could have ever thought they went into the woods. Then he saw it. There were transmutation marks on the outside wall of the building. Ed gazed upward. He clapped his hands together and made a platform up to the roof. He found his trail.

It continued on the rooftops until the edge of the city. Just as the military had said, once it got back on the ground, the drops disappeared into the forest.

Ed clapped his hands again into the dirt. He tried to spy out water in the—thankfully for him—crusty forest floor.

There it was. He felt the presence of water and sugar was just below the top layer of dirt. That was the blood trail. He had to go back and get Al… but he could be at god-knows-where by now trying to find a new owner, and the trail was already pretty weak after having the whole night to disappear…

Then Edward remembered what Roy had said. "_You never know when _you_ might be the next one to go missing_." He thought better of his boldness. Even if Nayru had already been gone for more than half a day now, Edward couldn't go alone.

* * *

><p>I awoke. Pupils big, my whole body aching and sweating.<p>

I couldn't feel my hands or my feet… I tried to shift to see if I was sitting on them, but then I realized which way the gravity was pulling me. Not flat, but…

It was dark and silent, but I could still feel.

My hands were still hot and wet, and my shoes were gone.

I squinted, thinking I saw a light coming from a corner, but I didn't. It was only my imagination. I was trapped, more trapped than I had ever been. All by myself in a dungeon, trapped with nowhere to go. But as my eyes adjusted, I noticed there weren't even bars to my cell, only chains.

I squirmed, harder, and more vigorously than I had ever in my life, but I couldn't move. I could only dangle and pull on my chains foolishly.

I obviously was in a jail of some sort, but it looked _too_ dark to be under the mansion I had entered earlier. Though, however earlier that was I had no idea. I had no idea how long I had been passed out.

I only felt warm where the curved knife had been inside me since there was a compress around it, but the rest of me was shaking and cold. What were they going to do to me?

I sat in the darkness, wondering where my hero was for hours on end. But he never came. Only the sound of hissing, and slithering, gripping, stinging hands did, around every part of me.

* * *

><p>Edward read the sign above the mansion in the middle of the stirring trees; another wind storm was brewing. Al clanked loudly as he caught up to Ed. The sign over the big dark entry read Kalki.<p> 


	15. Under the Hood

Chapter 15: Under the Hood

To my surprise the creature Don, Shadow, and the green-eyed man called Ebla cut the rope between my handcuffs and the hook on the wall loose. I dropped on the floor on my knees. They were scraped, but I before I even realized there was more blood seeping out of me I was pinned against the wall where I had just been let loose from. I heard hissing.

"Don't move," Ebla's soft threatening voice jeered. I only saw his glowing pink eyes and white gleaming smile in the dark, but I heard footsteps coming behind him as he chocked me.

"Let her go," was the green-eyed man's voice, Shadow and Don called 'master'. "She won't be able to get away." Ebla dropped me to the floor again, but kept a good watch.

"So…" the man took in a breath and licked his lips. "You are friends with the Fullmetal Alchemist, is that right?"

Like before, I didn't answer him.

"Are you still going to resist?" he asked with a small smirk that I could only see from the freshly lit lantern Ebla suddenly sparked—out of nowhere, it seemed. I had to squint so the dim light didn't hurt my eyes, yet I looked at the flames anyway. I got a hard hand on the face. It made me recoil.

"You are going to tell us what we want, or we will have to resort to force, understood?" The man gave me an angry glare as I sat back up, my legs folded under me. Yet, I still didn't answer. This time, I got an arm that slammed me to the wall, but not from the man.

"Answer him if you don't want to get hurt." Ebla spoke quietly, almost as if he didn't want to be any part of it if the green-eyed man _was_ resorted to using force… but I'm sure he was bluffing it out.

Then I was saved.

Kind of.

I heard a crashing noise as I tried to prop myself up a little. Shadow came crashing through a distant door, pouring light into the whole area, though the poorly-bolted door was more than 100 yards away.

"Sir!" he yelled. I could see he didn't have his hood up anymore, but though the light was now stronger, I was feeling too light-headed to see anything but my bloody hands and his fuzzy figure.

"He's here! Someone's here!"

The man was definitely alarmed.

"Who?" he asked immediately, finally taking his eyes off of me but Ebla didn't.

Shadow whispered something in his ear that I could not hear.

"What have you done with him?" the green-eyed man asked aloud.

"We've just let him wonder the mansion, sir. He doesn't even know we're here."

I knew now who they were talking about.

"Make sure he doesn't get anywhere near her—actually," The man looked between Ebla and Shadow. "Ebla, take her to someplace no one will find her." He turned to Shadow. "Get Don and the others. Tell them to stop him from finding out about us."

Finally Ebla looked away from me. Now was my chance.

"No way! I am not baby-sitting—"

I dashed for the door, but didn't even get around Shadow. I knew I wouldn't get far, why did I even try?

"Stupid child." Ebla clasped me tightly around the waist, and bashed me back against the cold floor. I gasped and hit my head.

The man sighed, but I saw Shadow's outline do nothing.

"How ignorant you are." The man crouched low by me as Ebla's grip tightened. "You know nothing of the world, and yet you want to go charging into it—"

"You're wrong!" I chocked, spitting in his face. "You know nothing about me. Or who you are dealing with out there."

His eyes widened.

"You know…?"

"Yes, I do. And if you do anything, anything at all to hurt him, you won't hear the last of me. Not ever. You can be sure of that."

The man nodded as if proud of my words, like he was my father. He turned back to Shadow's watching figure.

"You take her to somewhere she won't be able to…" He looked at me with disgust as though I would tell him the right words. "Make trouble for us," he finished, then quickly looked back to Shadow.

"Hurry! We don't know how much longer this Alchemist will stay anonymous!"

Shadow jumped a little.

"Yes, master." He bowed his head, long hair moved over his shoulders as he did. He picked me up again as he had before. Ebla let me go and slithered away with the green-eyed man.

Shadow sighed and started walking to the opposite direction but didn't speak. Not one word.

* * *

><p>"Well this place sure is boring…" Edward whispered to himself as he started blankly at the dusty old paintings of family heirs. "I thought there would definitely be a lot more… criminals. Or something," he went on. He looked behind himself to see what Al thought, but his brother wasn't there. For a split second Edward thought he had disappeared, but then remembered—again—that they had split up to better look for Nayru, though now that Ed thought about it, that probably wasn't that good of an idea.<p>

He was right.

Dozens of black shadows with dark brown hoods pulled over their faces surrounded him as soon as he turned back around. Curve-blade knives pointed at him from all aims. They thought Ed didn't notice. They were pretty quiet but Ed wasn't outwitted quite so easily.

Edward clapped his hands. Blue flew across the walls dazing everyone for a second, but as soon as Ed lunged for one of them with his newly transmuted spear, they all snapped back to what was happening and avoided his attack.

'Why aren't they fighting back?' Ed asked himself. But before he had run too far down the looming hall he was closed around by even more figures. They had learned they're mistake. They came around behind him all at once. One stole his spear and snapped it right in half.

"Wha…?"

Another gripped his braid and yanked it down to the ground as another twisted his right arm behind him. That was no good; it was made of metal! Edward grinned, even as his side started hurting again. He elbowed the combatant in the face, but soon found yet another grabbing at his left arm. Though his hood was now missing, the fighter trying to pin Ed's metal arm hadn't given up yet. Ed kicked him in the crotch with his left leg, and then again in the stomach to get him off. Only more came to pile on him.

Ed forced his hands together again and on the floor. Pointed sharp pillars spewed out from under the red velvet carpet hitting many of the ninjas with enough force to make them get knocked out, but nowhere near fatal blows.

He punched the man holding his left arm with his metal fist who flinched.

As he stood up he clapped his hands to the wall again. Now only 10 fighters remained. He held the blade he'd just made with more care this time and twisted around quickly to jab some enemies in the waist. He only succeeded in immobilizing two more of them when yet more came. Now it was time to find Nayru and Al and get out of there.

"AL!" Edward shrieked. He scurried just out of the enemy's grasp, waving his dagger in front of the faces of the just arriving members to make sure they backed off. Though stunned by his appearance, now more were pursuing.

"ALPHONSE!" He closed his eyes as he ran farther. "ALPHONSE!" He hadn't yelled so desperately for his brother in a while.

"ALPH—gh!"

He ran right into him, kneeling over as an exhausted heap on the ground.

"What?" Al asked. Then he noticed he didn't need to. "Brother? What did you do?"

Ed scrambled back up.

"Not now! Start running!"

Edward started off again with Al following too. His side hurt horribly, but he ignored it as he looked for any way to—

"Wait a second." Edward blinked wondering why he had been so stupid to forget the easiest way to make sure people couldn't get to him.

Flinging his long knife behind him—probably hitting someone on the head—he clapped his hands simply to the ground.

A wall and ceiling bolted up from the ground and enclosed around Ed and Al. Many feet skidded to a halt on the outside; they could not be bothered in here. Or so they thought.

* * *

><p>"Let's rest…"<p>

I heard Shadow's voice say. I opened my eyes. I must've fallen asleep on his back again.

We were in the middle of the forest like before, but this time all alone—no Ebla to keep watch on us.

Shadow ducked down and lifted my bound arms over his head. He set me on the dry ground. The trees were still blowing violently, just like my hair. He sat next to me, his blue eyes gazing at the stars high above. As he panted, I thought about escape…

Then I saw his face.

Black hair draped around on the shoulders. The ear I could see had two piercings in it of blue-hoop rings, and large brass cylinder beads hung in… _her_ bangs. Runes of things that looked like the eye of Truth were depicted on the back of _her_ dark brown coat, and _her_ long black-laced boots came all the way up to below her knees. She didn't see me watching, just kept watch on the stars. The reflection of them was specked in her blue eyes, which made it seem like I was just staring at the day sky with a black sun for her pupils and stars…

Why would she do this? There must be more to it… but what could be so horrible in one's life that you take part in kidnaping?

I could sit here with the criminal no longer. I didn't see why… I just couldn't stay, so I stood. She looked over. I watched her stare at me with bored eyes. Then the moon showed behind the clouds, her eyes glowed menacingly and the wind blew a harsh wind enough to lift her coat, revealing a long weapon. The hilt was pure silver with sapphires blue as her eyes, but she didn't reach for it.

I turned and ran. She didn't chase me through the trees and I didn't look back.

I was thankful for this, but what about Edward? He was still at the mansion…

* * *

><p>Right after making a tunnel to the lower floor, before they could even go down it, their wall was sliced—to shreds. A gleaming smile and many pink-red glowing eyes came through.<p>

"What the hell is—?"

Before Ed could get cut to smatterings, Alphonse snatched him around the waist. Ed couldn't even struggle from gagging at his brother's strength as he crushed his wound open again.

"Al!" Edward rasped, coughing. "Be careful, you're gonna—"

He jumped down to the stairs below them. He hit the bottom with a loud impact, and dropped Edward.

"Al!" Edward moaned again loudly as he started tumbling down the stairs. Alphonse drew a circle faster than Edward could even stop himself from rolling down to the depths of hell, and closed up the opening of light they had come through with one clap of his hands. They were left in silence and darkness.

Alphonse heard a snort and then a loud, echoing laugh.

"That was your plan?" Edward gasped, roaring with laughter.

"What's so funny?" Al asked getting a little mad.

"Why didn't _I_ think of that?" Ed chortled. Alphonse heard a clack of his high-bottomed boots that meant he had stood up. "Alright, we need to find Nayru…" he trailed. "Where are we?"

Though Ed didn't see it, he heard Al shrug from a clank from his armor.

"I have no idea…"

"And what was that thing that tried to attack us up there?" Ed asked.

"I don't know, brother. We need to find Nayru."

Ed glared back at him, but then remembering they couldn't see each other remarked, "You're telling me…"

He clapped and dragged his left hand across the wall, barely shifting the matter. If he couldn't make a torch that would be able to light their way, he could do it with the blue transmutation rods of his alchemy…

* * *

><p>The branches of the trees seemed to be reaching for me as I ran faster and farther though both of my legs felt as though they were made of jelly. I stumbled many times, but not because I wasn't coordinated, I couldn't keep my vision or my mind straight.<p>

It's one thing to be bad for no reason, or to be forced into following someone out of fear, but to look the way Shadow did—with her kind eyes and well-kept self—it didn't make sense to me. Was she being forced into it out of fear? But she not only had that kind look in her eyes, but the same serious one Ed had.

'There must be more to her,' I told myself. 'There just has to be…' But now it wasn't like I could ask. Even if I wanted to go back and ask her I did not know the way, I didn't even know where I was going now. I tried to keep my head level, but I kept thinking of _everything._

What did the symbols on the back of her coat mean? Did they mean anything at all? Was she a kind person? What was her name? Did she have one? Does she have a family? Does she like them? How old is she? What does she think of the world?

I don't know why it perplexed me so much to know the one who had stabbed and kidnapped me was a woman—not trying to sound sexist.

She was just so… _beautiful_ and strong… Just that one look in her eye told me everything… and yet nothing at the same time.

I felt there was more—_much_ more to her than anyone thought or knew, even her comrades. But why would she do this?

I had to know. No matter what happened, after I was out of this mess—with Ed or without him—I had to know. Who was this Shadow girl?


	16. The Kalki

Chapter 16: The Kalki

I thought I saw the dimming lights of a city many times, but I was wrong. It was only my poor vision playing tricks on me again.

I didn't know which way to turn, or which direction to even look. All I knew is that I needed to find safety. But I never did. I never had.

After running for hours, I saw the moon getting closer to the horizon that now had pink lines, but I could go no further. I didn't see anything that looked even remotely familiar, or close to a city, or even a barn for out in the country. I didn't even know the general area I was in. For all I knew I was in the North, I just had no idea.

Once I saw there was indefinitely nowhere to go on to, I just plopped myself down right where I was. I was all alone, and now, I even longed for Ed's company… though that had been a normal thing back at home…

"I want to go home…" I whispered to myself feeling water coming. "I need to get away from…"

The feeling of being lost in the world is one of the worst feelings, but to be lost in _another_ world was even worse. Then I realized, the last time I had talked to myself was before I even ever came to Amestris. I'd made so many friends and met so many people, so I couldn't cry. Not when I had them. Not when they listened to me.

But before I could even stand, I felt the presence of someone else in front of me. Their shadow loomed in front of me. I didn't need to look up to see who it was.

"Are you ready to go back yet?" Shadow asked. She must have been following silently behind me, just inside her fellow shadows.

I nodded.

"Good." She looked back to the pink lines under the moon. "It's getting late. We'd better get out of here."

I stood up.

"Alright…" I whisper to the grass. Where could she possibly be taking me now?

* * *

><p>"This sure goes down far," Al muttered.<p>

"Yeah, I know," Edward answered, eyeing down the never-ending stairs, still dragging his hand against the wall. Finally, as though that's all they had needed to say to make it appear, the ending dawned right before them.

"Well look at that!" Edward exclaimed. "I guess luck may like us down here in hell more than up in the house of god."

Alphonse didn't get it. He rolled his eyes.

"What are you saying, Ed?"

They stopped at the last of the stairs as Ed's blue rods faded away, and they were stuck in sudden darkness. "Nothing," Ed mumbled.

Al just shook his head. "I don't get you sometimes. You don't make _any_ sense."

Ed wheeled around to face Al as he stepped down from the last stair.

"You don't have to get it. It's just for my personal enjoyment anyway."

They blinked in the darkness, but soon saw there was one torch in the corner.

"Well, I guess I can't jumble the particles in the wall forever, can I?" Ed boasted.

Al ignored him. They walked over to the torch and saw it was still barely burning. It lay on its side next to a small blot of blood.

"Why do we always find blood…?" Ed asked himself in a small voice while looking down on the torch. Seeing if there was anything else, he picked it up. He wove it around the rest of the ground, but found no more until he reached the wall. The remnants of a cut rope, and more blood were next to the very corner of the whole dungeon. His eyes traveled up the wall to a metal ring bolted in the stone.

"This looks fresh," Ed told himself, crouching low by the rope.

"What?" Al asked again. He hadn't really been paying attention. He'd though he heard a sound.

Ed looked back up to the ring.

"The blood hasn't dried too much yet. It's still pretty fresh. Someone was here not too long ago…"

Al still watched for any movement.

"You sure…?" he asked slowly. Ed looked back at him.

"Yes, I'm sure." Ed saw where he was looking. "Are you even listening?"

"Yes…"

Edward looked around him.

"What's over there?"

"I dunno…"

He stepped around Al and toward the shifting, stepping sounds.

"Uh—Ed!" Al jerked at his arm.

"Let go!" Ed spoke sharply—it startled Alphonse. He let go of his brother.

"Who are you?" Edward shouted into the shadows. It laughed.

"So you knew I was here?" a voice asked. "I was surprised Ebla wasn't able to take care of you first."

Alphonse saw Edward tense up as he got ready to clap his hands. The voice continued.

"But then that means I get to do whatever I want with you."

A man stepped into the torch light. His green eyes bright with the reflection of the flames.

"Who are you?" Edward spat. The man only laughed again. "And what do you have to do with the kidnaping of Nayru?"

"I'm the one who ordered to have her kidnapped," he said this with blank eyes. Edward snapped his gaze back on him at these words.

"What?" His voice broke, but out of anger. "So you're the one who…" He couldn't take people like this anymore. With a rush of fury Edward transmuted the torch in his hands to a wooden sword burning on the blade, but not the handle. He clapped his hands again, this time to the ground, and stole some of the cobblestone to turn his handle and the core of his blade to stone. He pointed his flaming weapon at the enemy, but he bolted back into the dark corner he had come from before Edward even looked up.

"Hey—get back here!" Edward yelled after him as he chased, the light of the burning sword leaving Al in the darkness.

"No, Ed!" Alphonse raced after the light around the corner. "It's a—"

They faced at the very least the same number of people they had brawled upstairs. Edward stood in the middle, and now Al came to join him. The green-eyed man's followers closed in around them.

"Great job…" Al murmured to his brother.

"Sorry, how was I supposed to know?" he whispered back.

"You always charge into things without thinking!" Al shook his head.

"Now, you two are coming with us," said the man as a dark fluid-like puddle slithered under him.

"And why would we do that?" Edward asked, watching the man's large shadow.

"Ed!" Alphonse whined.

"What?" Ed turned to him. "Are we just going to let them take us prisoner like Nayru? No, we aren't."

"But Ed—we are outnumbered. What can we do against them?"

Everyone was watching them.

"We can fight them! That's what! How hard is it to think of that?"

"Enough!" The man raised a hand, but the brothers didn't care. They kept fussing.

"But we can't defeat them alone like this!" Al went on.

"We can if I say we can!"

"Hey—"

"No, we can't!"

"Calm down—"

"Yes, we can!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"Don't be stubborn!"

"FOR GOD'S SAKE!"

They still didn't seem to hear him.

"Look, Edward, we can't take out twenty guys all at once. It's impossible!"

"It isn't twenty guys—a dozen at the most—and it doesn't matter the number, just as long as—"

The black puddle under the man shot swiftly under Ed and Al.

"Uh?"

"There's twenty guys…" Al muttered still—he hadn't noticed the shadow.

"Al—look out!"

Edward stabbed his flaming blade at the creature. It missed and clunked on the ground making sparks fly. Edward saw the thing had moved out of the way where the blade hit the ground.

"What the—?"

It shot at Ed and Al.

* * *

><p>The trees whizzed past as I sat on Shadow's back once again. It was getting lighter, and the sky was turning pretty hues of yellow and orange-pink.<p>

I had waited too long. I couldn't resist asking.

"Why do you do this?"

Shadow stopped immediately.

"That's none of your business," she said looking at me out of the corner of her eye. She kept going.

"How is it none of my business? I know I don't know you, but _I'm_ the one you're kidnaping, you know…"

She sighed.

"You're going to bother me until I tell you, aren't you?" she asked.

"Yes, I am," I answered right back.

"Well too bad," she said simply. "I'm not telling you."

"Why?" She didn't answer. I kept asking her 'why' as long as she would allow me to. Finally she shook herself knowing it hurt my wrists to be pulled on to make me shut up. I winced slightly, but not loud enough for her to hear. Still I waited.

"I'm not telling you," she repeated.

"Then will you at least tell me what you and those people want with me?" I asked. She gave me a quick glance where I gave her a sincere look. She sighed again.

"Alright, I'll tell you that much—"

"And tell me where we're going," I added.

"Yes, yes, but I can't tell you what the master wants with you. Only he can tell you that. He didn't even tell me anyway."

"Okay," I said. She was still silent. "So who are those people?" I pushed. Shadow stopped again and gazed at the moon. She stayed there so long a cloud that had been drifting by it was all the way to the other side of the sky by the time she looked away and kept on going. The birds were starting to sing.

"They are an organization known as the 'Kalki,'" she began. "I'm not sure how long ago they were founded, or why, but I do know the last name of the master is 'Kalki' as well. He must be part of the family line."

"I saw the sign above the door as we came in," I said suddenly. "If that's his house then why is it a total mess?"

"What makes you say it's a total mess?" Shadow asked looking back at me with one of her blue eyes again. "Besides the dust, it seems pretty well kept to me."

"I didn't see any furniture," I said.

"That's only because we didn't go into any rooms, and you were only half conscious anyway. The rooms are all full and very clean too. You just haven't seen the mansion during the day."

We were silent for a little while.

"So… do you usually kidnap people in a normal day?" I asked, trying to piece the clues together as to what the Kalki organization would want with me, and why she would join them.

"No," Shadow said. "The new members train on the grounds all day, and the ones who have been with them for a while—like me—go out into the city to see if we can find anything… _interesting_ about anyone. I don't really know what exactly we are looking for. But I found out about you, and the master seemed interested in that. So I guess I had the right idea."

"What do you mean you found out about me?" I asked. "I've never seen you before in my life, unless you are a really good stalker."

"I watched you when you were least paying attention," Shadow said.

When I gave her silence she added, "When you were reading."

My eyes widened—even in the bright light of the morning sun. I _had_ seen her before. She was one of the librarians in East City library!

I remembered watching her go into a large room with a bunch of tattered books in it many times. But I had barely noticed, because I had been thinking about the Philosopher's Stone and Ed every time… I even remembered when Ed asked her where the military records were, and when she would be putting the books back in the shelves in the Military Storage Room. Where ever we were, she had been, and I hadn't even noticed.

"That was you?" I asked, not believing myself.

"Yes, that was me. You see, we are trained quite well, and you were my first lead onto anything interesting. So I'm sorry for doing this."

I was slightly surprised at her words, but then I had to press farther before she wasn't open to me anymore.

"If you are sorry, then why did you even join the Kalki in the first place?"

A fence appeared before us. The top of it was aligned with barbed wire, but she started scaling it anyway. Once she got to it, she leaped over the very top at the last second. The wire barely grazed the toe of her black-laced boots, but it did not catch. When her feet noisily crunched on the leaves opposite side of the fence, she stood still. The wind blew through her hair knocking the beads in it around and she did not look at me.

"I joined not because I was forced to, but because I had to," she said quietly. She observed the area in front of us and mooched slowly forward. "I had nowhere else to go."

She stared into space, but suddenly shook her head and her paced quickened.

"But that was a long time ago. It's too late now. Far too late."

The side of a mansion came gradually into view as we reached the last bit of trees in the forest.

I recognized the mansion.

"Why are we coming back here?" I asked, though I was happy to see it. "I thought your master said to take me somewhere I won't cause trouble." I still remembered the menacing words he hissed in my face.

"Yes, he did. But he never said where to take you," Shadow said as she walked around to the front. "There is nowhere for me to take you, and besides, I don't really consider him _my_ master."

"But you obey him, don't you?"

"I do, but only because I made a deal with him that I have to keep," she said. "He's more like my manager, not my master."

I opened my mouth but she read my thoughts.

"No, I'm not telling you."

I closed my mouth again, but then asked, "So what are we going to do when we get inside?"

She didn't answer until we were already at the door.

"I'll improvise," she said, still not looking at me.

I was starting to think she was on our side…

* * *

><p>Both Ed and Al jumped out of the way of Ebla just in time. He got nothing but air.<p>

"Ha!" Ed grinned, but was then caught from behind in a head lock by one of Mr. Kalki's followers. His flaming sword hit the ground. Ed tried to slip out of their hold on him, but he could not. He reached for the neck of the one holding him with his right arm that could not be twisted back into painful positions, but then a couple others came to hold it. They snatched Ed's arm to the side and held it tight.

"Dammit," Edward grunted as he struggled, but he couldn't get out.

"So," Master Kalki looked over to Al for a brief second who made no movement at all. "Are you going to do as I say now?"

Edward squirmed, but didn't answer.

"Take them to my room," Master Kalki told the man holding Ed. He picked up the sword from the stone floor. "I'll be there in a second. I have things to deal with first." He gave Ebla a glare that made him shy away. Ed didn't know what it meant, but he couldn't stay and see for the guards dragged him away with Al following.

They walked in the halls with nothing but the sound of the many feet striding toward the room to which they had been directed, and Al's clinking, of course. To Ed's annoyance Alphonse did nothing to try and help him out of the head lock he was still being held in as he was dragged behind everyone else. Al just followed them as they walked silently to the giant dark-wood door.

Finally Ed got tired of pretending. He slipped right out of the enemy's grasp without any trouble and clapped his hands to the ground so fast no one even knew he had gotten out until it was too late.

The spear that had emerged from the blue transmutation stabbed the man who had been holding Ed in the leg. He cried out in pain as Edward pulled it out, spurting blood on everyone as he whipped it around. No one knew how to stop him.

"Ed!" Al called after him, but he could not get back to his brother this time. All of the guards that didn't follow Edward blocked Al's way so he could go nowhere.

Ed rushed through the halls, looking behind him every second to see how many were following. As he came upon the entryway again—that he hadn't seen in a while now—he heard the door opening.

'Not more guards,' Ed thought to himself, but seeing the ones pursuing him still weren't around the corner he merely clapped his hands to make a platform up to the rafters. No one even saw him up here. He chuckled quietly to himself as he ran across one of the boards close to the ceiling to the front door. He was astonished it worked, if that was all he had needed to do to lose them, but he kept himself hushed just in case.

He looked down. The figure that entered the door was running fast toward a door under the stairs, and on its back was…

"Nayru!" Ed didn't even know that it had been his voice that had yelled for her until a couple seconds past. All of Master Kalki's followers saw him at once.

"NAYRU!" Edward cried again much louder this time, but she had already disappeared under the grand staircase of the foyer with the shadow that was carrying her.

This was bad. This was very bad. She couldn't go back down there with that creepy guy and the shadow creature that had almost torn _him_ to bits! Edward couldn't just sit around and wait, but he also knew he couldn't just burst through the door down there without a plan either. There were too many guards to deal with now, and all of them knew he was there too.

He had to take a chance though. He made a platform down from the rafters, trying to land somewhere the guards weren't, but now it seemed the whole floor was covered with them as though they were ants swarming below someone eating a sandwich very messily.

Half way down to the ground again, the sun glinted right in Ed's face through one of the enormous high windows.

'It is really that late already?' Edward asked himself, then he remembered.

"If you don't return in a certain amount of time, we will assume you dead."

24 hours? They only had 24 hours to get Nayru out of here, and it had almost been that long already! If he was reported dead, that would mean no more State license and therefore no more research for him not reporting in as required. Then he wouldn't be able to research the material necessary for him to find the Philosopher's Stone… That's right; he still had to find a way to—

Edward had been thinking too long, he had hit the ground crushing someone under him. The others lunged, but he used his spear to propel himself to make a backflip right out of the group of people.

He raced for the door below the stairs. It wasn't locked and no one was in his way.

* * *

><p>Shadow crept down the spiral stairs, even in the darkness. We said nothing. Then a light was seen at the bottom, and there were the green-eyed man and Ebla.<p>

"Master," Shadow started immediately, but she must have interrupted something because Master Kalki turned around to face her with an alarmed expression.

"W-what are you doing back here?" he snapped. Ebla stood quiet for once. No laughing or hissing.

"You never said where to go, and I assumed the Fullmetal Alchemist would be detained by now, so—"

"I _told_ you to keep her away from here!" he yelled. Shadow bowed her head.

"I'm sorry, sir, but where was I supposed to take her?"

Master Kalki didn't answer her question.

"Oh well, it's not like that matters now." He glanced back at Ebla. "We'll finish this later," he said, the flaming sword in his hand lowering. The creature sunk back away into the darkness of the dungeon without a sound as the man walked over to the stairs by which Shadow stood.

"Oh well, just take her to my room. I'll just have to deal with both of them together." He looked at me. "Actually, that might be a better thing…"

Shadow bowed her head to him, but right before Master Kalki could even take the first step up the stairs, someone stood in his way.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Edward said as he looked down at him. But he still did not look at me…


	17. Unbreakable

Chapter 17: Unbreakable

Ed had already disappeared around the corner, and Al could not get to him.

'Why can't he just sit still?' Al asked himself, but the Kalki members pushed him off to the room they were instructed before Al could retaliate.

"Hey—wait!"

The dark-wood door slammed in Al's metal face as he was left in the dimly-lit room by himself. The fireplace was about half of the size of the room itself, but even then it only gave off a little light—that looked kind of greenish on the walls—since it was almost burnt to the bricks. It puffed sparks out angrily every so often that floated around the books on the shelves in the walls, but none of them caught fire. Though Al was looking for a way out, anyway, so he didn't even notice.

There were two other doors on opposite sides of the fireplace besides the one he had come through. Both of them were also locked and he couldn't force them open no matter how much force he used. He didn't even hear the Kalki members still guarding the door he had come through. They were probably looking for Ed. Maybe they had already captured him, but Al was sure they would bring Nayru and his brother here with him if they knew where they were.

Where _were_ they, though? Was Nayru even in the mansion anymore?

* * *

><p>I didn't know what to think about seeing Edward there all of a sudden right in front of my face when the last time I had seen him was a couple days ago when we had <em>both<em> been stabbed by Shadow, but as always, Edward was the first to react to everything.

"Where do you think you're going?" Ed inquired toward Master Kalki who still clutched the flaming sword Ed had made. He did not say a word along with Shadow and I.

"You know, it isn't nice to kidnap people. You should really go back to parenting school if you want a kid legally."

The man snapped back from his gawking silence.

"I didn't ask you anything, brat. Come with us quietly. Now, before—"

"Before what? Before you berate me to death? Wow, I'm so scared."

I saw the sour look on Ed's face was also directed at me besides Master Kalki and Shadow. The last time we had a conversation I'd run away from him. I felt guilty, like he shouldn't be here for me, but he was, and that's all that mattered. It was all that mattered to show he was the better person.

Master Kalki turned away to the side waving the wooden sword to the darkness. I thought I saw his lips move, and the real shadow formed below us. Edward saw it immediately. He watched it slither under the man with great focus, but it wasn't after him.

There was a swift move, and I heard an awful ripping noise. I curved my head over to the other side of Shadow's black hair to see what it was. I wished I hadn't.

Red gushed out of Kalki's chest, a shadow through his heart. He didn't even make a sound as he dropped to the floor when the shadow withdrew from inside him, and his now limp body lay dead on the stone floor. The rest of us knew we were in trouble now. Shadow stepped back toward Edward on the stairs. Ed stood his ground, but I saw him give Shadow and I an uneasy glance before refocusing on Ebla.

"Finally _he_ is out of my way." Ebla's laugh cracked and repeated louder, louder, louder as it traveled through the cobblestone walls. He shook off the blood on one of his sharp arms. Ruby eyes suddenly flared open with a familiar sound and glowered at us with menacing curiosity from the ground and walls—the kind one should be afraid of.

He came closer, carefully slithering around the flaming sword that still lay on the ground next to Kalki's dead body. Shadow and Ed went farther up the stairs watching him with every step.

"Now I can take this place and its members for myself." Many mouths of Ebla's gleaming white teeth smiled open as he licked them. "And now, I can _also_ do whatever I want with _you_."

Out of the last corner of light I saw little black hands delicately pick up Master Kalki's body. It was thrust it into one of the pairs of teeth, but thankfully I didn't see anymore. Ed and Shadow bolted up the stairs.

"You cannot hide from me," Ebla's twisted voice shouted after them, but he did not follow.

"Why isn't it following us?" Ed gasped as it got darker and darker the farther they ran. He saw Shadow was falling behind.

"Because he's eating. He can't go too far from his meals. That's something I've learned."

Another ripping noise was heard, and then the slithering getting louder. "Hurry up, will you? It's coming!" Ed screamed.

"That's kind of hard when I have someone else to carry, runt!"

Edward slowed down as Shadow caught up with him.

"What did you call me?" he tried to ask in a calm voice. I snorted thinking this was NOT the time.

"Not now, Ed!" I yelled over the sound of Ebla's slithering getting louder than our trampling footsteps higher and higher up the dark stairs. "You can beat her for calling you a runt later! Right now we need to—"

"I can still hear you…" Ebla whispered, though he sounded very close.

"Ed!" I yelled. "Make a transmutation wall!"

Ed blinked.

"Oh yeah, but why don't you?" he asked. "You're good enou—"

"JUST DO IT!" I screamed.

He gave me a reproachful look, but did as he was told. The wall slipped right in front of Ebla just as he was about to swipe Shadow. She stopped immediately.

"What are you doing?" Ed asked her in an exasperated yell. She didn't mind him.

"Here." She swung me over her head again, and reached in her coat pocket for something as I stood next to Ed. Ebla hissed softly through the stone wall.

Shadow found a clanking something and fumbled with it in her fingers for too long. Before she could even look at me, the wall gave in. Ebla smashed through with one blow, and got the first person he could. The keys hit me in the face and then surprisingly down to my hands.

"Run!" I heard a voice say, but I couldn't see who it was through the light. Then Ebla's eyes burst open again with a swooshing sound. The pink glow of his eyes was all I needed to see who he'd got.

"Come on!" Ed grabbed my arm. "Let's go!" But I didn't want to leave Shadow.

She must have seen the look in my eyes, because when she spoke again she smiled as she did it.

"Don't worry, kid. I'll see you at the library again, just go."

She kept smiling. Ed pulled me up the stairs, but I stared back down them. As soon as Shadow's smile was out of view I heard the same cracking and ripping I had before, and the splattering of chunky liquid. The door was suddenly right in front of us. Edward pushed it open without missing a beat as Ebla grew closer again, licking blood off his lips. Edward slammed the door in the shadow creature's face before it leapt for us.

"Out of the way!" Edward yelled at shocked Kalki members still wandering mindlessly around the foyer.

As they moved to stop him Edward barked in their faces, "There's a crazy shadow creature coming to kill us all! Get out!"

None of them listened. That is, until the crazy shadow creature smashed through the door, stabbing five Kalki members in the head as he did and paid no mind.

As we ran up the red carpeted front staircase all of the fighters turned—thankfully—on Ebla. We shoved past the last few as we heard yet more ripping and snacking.

"Idiots, just obey me and I won't be forced to kill you!" Ebla told them, but he spat bones and blood out onto the floor as he pulled and swallowed more men leaving him quite busy. He was getting bigger.

Edward nearly pasted me to the dark-wood door as he ran into it himself making a scratch on it with his right arm. He clapped his hands and made a small door within the one that was already there. It was my turn to do something. I hit my fist against the door so hard after Ed's transmutation it banged on the other side.

"Alphonse!" I screamed. He spun around letting go of the handle of the door he had been trying to force open. "Get yer ass out here! There's a creepy homunculus-like creature chasing us!"

Edward was startled.

"What? Homunculus?"

"Yes, I'll explain later."

'Oh yeah,' I thought. 'He already knows I'm from a different world…'

"Where did you hear _that_ in this other dimension of yours?" Edward asked.

"_Now's not the time_, Ed!" I said for the second time that morning, casting Ed a quick glance out of the corner of my eye. "Hurry up, Al!" I shouted. "Unless you want to be left behind!"

I dashed back out the door and imagined the brothers exchanging an awkward, inquiring to each other before they caught up with me.

This time, _I _led the way! It was my turn!

I darted left down the first corridor there was. I was right; there was an exit there.

"Where are you going?" Ed yelled after me over Al's clanking legs.

"The exit, dummy, where else?"

As soon as we got out the door it seemed so… quiet. Even though I knew there was still a battle going on inside the mansion, I couldn't help but slow down as soon as I felt the wind blowing through my hair.

Edward pushed right past me almost knocking me into the railing of the porch stairs.

"What are _you_ doing, dummy?" he yelled back over his shoulder as I started running with Al. "We have to get out of here! We aren't out of danger yet!"

I smiled to myself at his words.

"Come up with your own retorts, shorty!"

"WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?"

I laughed, but it was then I remembered Shadow…

* * *

><p>"Well…" Roy stared at the three of us trying not to seem too stunned, but his eyebrows were raised. "You made your check mark," he said definitively. Riza also stared. She didn't know what to think.<p>

"What happened to you three?" she asked. "You look like you've run over five miles."

"We did," Ed huffed, holding up a metal finger for a breath, me along with him. We were still tired from running all the way from the middle-of-nowhere forest mansion to East HQ again in only two hours.

"So I take it you succeeded?" Roy asked walking past us, Riza following.

"Well, sort of." Ed gulped. "We found Nayru, but…"

"You didn't catch the criminals," Roy finished for him as we trotted up next to him. Many military personnel ogled at us as we passed.

"Yeah… well…" Ed thought about it. "We didn't catch the criminal, but…"

"But what?" Roy asked, not even looking back to see Ed's expression.

"Well, he was kind of… murdered," Ed finally concluded. Roy stopped right in front of his office.

"_He was murdered?_" he asked the door. Riza turned back to our front, as if there she would find the answer.

"Did you _see_ him get murdered?"

I saw Alphonse getting nervous, but Ed and I stayed cool.

"Yeah, I saw… this weird shadow thing stab him right through the chest. I'd call that dead, but that's just me." He looked at me. "What did you call it?" he asked. I gave him a look that told him this, yet again, was not the time, but I could tell he was still trying to get back at me for not telling him I was from a different world. I can see why he was still angry, and I even wondered now why I had told Al and not him. But there was nothing I could do now to change that, so both Ed and I would just have to live with it.

"A weird shadow thing?" Roy asked again finally opening the door to his office and going in.

Edward now saw my face that told him to forget he'd ever seen it, and didn't answer Roy. Roy saw Ed's hesitation as he reached his desk and sat down, Riza still next to him. She handed him some papers.

"Why the tied tongue?" he asked looking over the black text on the white paper.

I spoke for everyone, thinking of the perfect thing to say for once.

"Actually we were ordered not to speak of it to anyone," I interjected. Roy flopped the pages over to look straight at me with his cold eyes for the first time. "We can't tell you." I went on. Roy still stared at me.

"Who is she, again?" he asked pointing. "A friend of yours? Or just there to be annoying?"

Ed looked over at me, still angry.

"I honestly don't know," he said. "She's there, and that's all I can tell you."

Roy finally looked away from me.

"I was joking. Are you lovebirds fighting or something?"

"Uh—?"

"We aren't a couple," I answered for Ed.

"Oh," Roy said, setting the papers back down, but still looking over them. "You'd make a good one…" He didn't look at either Ed or me when he said this, and neither did I. Though I'm sure I felt Edward looking at me.

"Anyways, did we fail the mission or not?" Al asked.

Roy signed all of the papers Riza had given him and handed them back. She walked out of the room. The door shut with the usual loud, shuddering snap.

"You came back with the victim," Roy said, inclining toward me with his hands that were under his chin as always. "But you weren't able to capture any of the criminals responsible?" He paused to let us think about our actions. "Tell me why you weren't able to, again?" he asked.

"Because all of the ones known to be helping in the kidnaping were killed," Ed lied.

There were still all of the other members of the Kalki organization, but it would be impossible to arrest all of them, and there was no proof they had done anything. But Master Kalki and Shadow were dead. And there would be no way to capture Ebla, being half homunculus, or whatever he was. So there was no one to pin the blame on…

Besides those three, the only other person I knew had been a part of the Kalki that I knew the name of was the blondie at the entrance of the mansion when I first arrived, Don. But hell knows where he was now.

What was _Shadow's_ real name even? I hadn't even gotten to ask her that.

Then I remembered what she had said before she was…

"The new members train on the grounds all day, and the ones who have been with them for a while—like me—go out into the city to see if we can find anything interesting about anyone."

Maybe Don was still out in the city looking for anything "interesting" to tell Master Kalki too. Not knowing the Kalki was now taken over by Ebla, he probably was even around here in the area looking. What would he do when he got back?

"So… they were killed by some unknown shadow creature, you say?" Roy continued with his eyes closed as he thought.

"Yeah," Ed answered with tight lips.

"Hm. Well, I'd say for a kidnaping case it's pretty good to find the victim, especially still alive, so it wasn't a total flop." Roy leaned back in his chair and tilted his head back as he rubbed his eyes. "Do all of the record paper work, and tell us where to find this 'Kalki' family mansion of ours for us to investigate—"

"I can't do that," Edward said immediately.

Roy took his hands away from his face and looked at the three of us again.

"Why not? More orders?"

Ed didn't make a sound but I heard him containing words with every question Roy asked. How much did he know about me? I hadn't told Al that much, so he couldn't know too much. Could he? But I somehow felt as though this had nothing to do with that.

"No," Ed finally said.

"Then why not?"

"Be-cause…" He looked at the floor. "Because I'm stupid," he answered plainly. Then he looked back up. "Go investigate whatever you want. The mansion is close to East River." He turned around and started heading toward door. "Hurry and send those report papers so Al and I can get back to trying to find the Philosopher's Stone." He waved back at Roy with his back turned before closing the door quietly—for once—behind him.

I saw Roy's, finally, surprised face at Ed's words before I headed toward the door myself.

"Stay out of trouble," Roy told Alphonse as he picked up the phone on his desk, but still watching us. Al nodded, and followed me out.

What could Ed possibly be thinking now?


	18. Truths Come Out

Chapter 18: Truths Come Out

"We're not just going to forget what we saw at the Kalki mansion and keep trying to find the Philosopher's Stone, are we?" Al asked when we returned to East library the next day. "I mean, there's no way—"

"Quiet, Al," Edward snapped, striding right through the main entrance going faster than both Al and I toward the Military Storage Room.

"No, brother! It isn't the right thing! We have to help the military with the rest of this mission. We have to at least tell them what we—"

"I said quiet!" Ed snapped again; then he turned on me. "And you," He pointed one metal finger at my nose. "You are going to tell me all I want to know."

Alphonse gave a groan of frustration.

"Why should she? She barely even told _me_ anything!"

Edward gave his brother a dark grimace, but before Alphonse could say anything else I cut in.

"It's okay, Al." I put my hands on one of Al's raised metal fists; they were trembling with anger. "I don't care. Both you and Ed have a right to know—"

"No," Ed interrupted. "I don't want him there." He didn't look at his brother as he said this. "I need to speak with you alone—for once," he added at the end. "If Al was there… I know you wouldn't be able to talk as freely as with only one person. And you know me better than Al."

I was shocked at his words, but he was right. If Al were there, I wouldn't tell him… _everything_…

Al looked at me, but I only gave him a look that said, "I'm sorry, but he's right," so Alphonse walked straight to a different section of the library as Ed opened the door to the Military Storage Room. All was quiet; we were the only ones in there, no one to bother us. Not even Shadow this time…

Edward sat down, right where we always had when researching the Philosopher's Stone. He took in a huge breath and started.

"Now, I can trust you are going to be completely honest with me, right?" he asked first. I nodded. "And that I can ask you whatever I want, and you will answer?"

I nodded again.

"Okay, then I'm not sure where to begin… How did you get here?"

I thought far back into my memories of… over three months ago, now. Had it really been that long since I was back home? My face scrunched up as I tried to remember what I had been doing that long ago.

"In my world, Earth, as we call it, we've developed technology of immense power. We can talk with someone on the other side of the world, go over 1,000 miles in less than a day without taking a train, and even fly to the moon. But it isn't normal that someone ends up in another universe, I'm sure you know that."

"So then how did you get here?"

I don't know why, but I chuckled a little at the images I'd last seen at home.

"We have created things called computers in my world. It's a device… about this big," I held my hands about two feet apart. "That can hold all of the information anyone could ever want or need. But only all of the information of things we've discovered, of course—"

"What do you mean by 'we?'"

"'We' meaning the entire human race. On Earth there are billions of people—it's getting overcrowded—but anyways, where was I?"

"About your devices called computers."

"Oh yeah, so these computers can…" It was hard trying to explain the importance and function of computers to someone who had never even seen one before, but I had to try for Ed to know I was trying.

"They can… hold a tremendous amount of information—kind of like your Portal of Truths—" Ed wondered how I knew about that when most people _here_ hadn't.

"You know about 'that thing?'"

"Yes, I'll get to explaining! So bottom line is they are tiny boxes that hold a lot of information, and you can do almost anything on them. Now, you know how people like to make up stories where there are fictional characters, a plot, villains, and so on?"

Ed nodded.

"Well that's how I know so much about… you."

Ed leaned back as if a gust of wind had just pushed him.

"You mean in your world… there's a story about… me?" The lines in his face told me he was slightly worried.

"Yes, well… yeah, that's pretty much it."

I watched him as he stared right through me into the ground. Finally he refocused.

"Uh… do people… like the story?" he croaked.

"Yeah, most people, anyway."

"Most people?" Edward shrieked, now talking rather loud.

"Well I know my mom and brother don't like it, but other than them everyone I know loves it," I said quickly. "And they haven't even really seen it, so they can't—"

"'_Seen_' it? What do you mean by 'seen' it?"

"There are movies—except, well, this isn't a movie—it's a—"

"What's it called? Who's it about? When does it take place?"

"It's called 'Fullmetal Alchemist'—"

"AFTER ME?"

"Yes, after you!"

"Is it about me?"

"Yes! It's about you!"

"SO THE WHOLE WORLD KNOWS AL AND I—?"

"YES! THEY DO! SLOW DOWN—"

"Okay…" Edward's metal arm was on his chin, and he was biting one of his metal fingers so hard I'm sure I heard his teeth cracking.

"ANYWAYS!" I scoffed as I rolled my eyes in my head, even though I knew this was exactly what I'd do if I were him. "Where was I, even, again?"

"I can't remember…" Ed said, shaking slightly. "So your whole world knows what Al and I did, but… do they care?"

"It isn't _that_ well known of," I said, wondering if this would make him feel better or worse. "People read and watch it, but not too many people… and I'm sure they don't care."

Ed didn't answer. He just kept his gaze through the floor as he chewed his finger.

"I, um… LOVE the story about you, especially one… uh… scene from it…" I wondered if I should tell him watch that 'scene' was… I thought better of it. "So, while watching it one night at my computer in my bed, I—it—" I took a deep breath, though even I didn't know why saying this was so hard. "The eye of Truth appeared on the screen that is attached to my computer, and a bunch of little black hands pulled me through it."

Now I saw Edward watching me.

"So… you saw it too?"

I knew he meant the Truth so quickly answered, "No." Ed looked relieved. "I was just pulled to it in my computer screen, and then I somehow I found myself at your house… That's all I know." And that was true; it _was_ all I knew.

Edward stared long and hard at my face, I looked straight back at him, right in the eyes.

'Trying to decide if I'm telling the truth or now,' I thought to myself. Sure enough, he said, "Yep, you're telling the truth," as he finally put his right hand back in his lap, and looked away. Then he seemed to remember all I had just told him.

"So… that's pretty much all I need to know? That there is a story about me in this other world of yours, where you were sucked into this computer-thing and it popped you here?"

I thought for a second.

"Yep! That's all you need to know. Anything else you want to know?" I asked.

Now Ed thought for a while. "Well now I see why you didn't tell me…" he said putting his hand back on his chin, but I saw in his eyes a bit of embarrassment for acting the way he did about it. A thought struck him. "So, then, do you know what happens to me at the end… of _my_ story?" he asked.

I didn't think it was wise to tell him I knew everything about him, but I _did_ promise him I wouldn't lie…

"Yeah, I know the ending," I said trying not to show how it turned out, but also trying to make sure I didn't show any signs of worry.

He watched me—as I'd expected him to—for what the end might be, but he didn't ask, and by his features I couldn't see if he knew.

'He knows he shouldn't ask,' I thought. 'He knows he isn't supposed to know his end yet… but then again, who would want to know…?'

"So anything else?" I asked again.

He thought again. Then he smiled his wicked, Elric smile. The one I loved.

"Do you hate Winry for liking me?"

So this is how it was going to be between us from now on…

My cheeks became hot.

"Kind of…" I muttered.

"Sorry, didn't hear you," Edward said with a hand cuffed over his ear as he leaned forward. "Come again?"

"YES! I HATE WINRY FOR LIKING YOU!" I screamed in his ear. He withdrew immediately and stuck his fingers in his ear as to clean it out.

"You didn't have to yell, you know. I'm right here and I can hear you fine." He gave me a smile that I thought I only saw him give to one other person. He leaned closer again, elbow on his knee, chin rested on top. "So you like me don't you?" he smirked, trying to rub it in.

I tried to keep myself from pounding him.

"Yes, I do," I answered again. "Now are you going to ask a _valid_ question or do I have to start lying again?"

Ed sat back up again.

"When have you ever lied to me?" he asked with an ironic touch. And as I thought about it, I knew he was right. When had I ever lied to him?

* * *

><p>As soon as Edward opened the door of the Military Storage Room Alphonse came to crush him.<p>

"Edward! What did you do to Nayru? She's all red!"

I shied away, but I somehow didn't feel at all embarrassed.

"I didn't do anything to her!" Edward yelled trying to squirm out of his brother's clutches. Alphonse let him go, but instantly looked over at me to see if he was telling the truth.

"He didn't do anything to me!" I laughed, smiling.

"Sh!" One of the passing by librarians hissed—just like Ebla. I kind of missed Shadow already… even though I never had gotten to know what she was doing, or even have a decent conversation with her.

Behind her back, Edward gave the librarian a face, but shook Al head at his brother with a disapproving look.

"So what are we going to do now?" Alphonse asked us, now talking in a whisper. For once I came up with the ideas.

"We are going to go see what we can find out about the Kalki," I said immediately, for some reason making Edward and Alphonse jump just by talking aloud.

"Why?" Edward asked. "Shouldn't we be looking for the Philosopher's—?"

"Nope!" I said, feeling omniscient. "You will find it later, I promise. But much, much later. Don't worry about it now, there's no way you're going to find it now." My eyes averted to the top of my head as I made sure there was nothing I could be interrupting at the moment in the real story. Then I clicked back to what I had been saying.

"Uh, Ed, what is she talking about?" Al asked.

"Nothing," Ed answered fast, not wanting to explain to his brother about everything I had just told him. "If Nayru says it's not important right now, then we'll have to trust her." He looked at me, Alphonse still wondering why Ed and I were all of a sudden buddies again, but didn't ask.

"So what are going to do in order to find out more about the Kalki?" Ed inquired.

"Okay, so," I bowed forward a little to make our conversation more secret, but then seeing all of the people at the library watching us with scrutinizing angry faces instead of the books in their hands, I thought it best not to speak of my plans in public.

"Maybe we shouldn't be talking about this here," I said. Edward looked around. Seeing the same people I saw, he nodded, and beckoned Al and I to follow him out of the library.

* * *

><p>Back in the same military dorm hotel room we had been before, it felt strange. The last time I'd come here was when I was crying about… (Well, I'd rather not talk about it.) The scratch Ed's arm had left on the floor when I had shoved past him was still there, but I'm sure I'm the only one who noticed it, for neither of the brothers said anything about it, and I didn't see their eyes fall to the floor.<p>

"Okay," I started again, as Ed and I sat down on one of the beds. "So what you two don't know, is when I was first taken into the Kalki's mansion or whatever, there was also another man that led me into Master Kalki's room."

Edward leaned forward—while we were on a bed!—and Al stepped closer.

"Who was this other man?" Alphonse asked.

"Well, I assume since Shadow and him were talking to each other so freely, that they were kind of friends or something, but maybe I'm wrong. His name was Don."

Edward sat back again with a hand on his chin. I blinked.

"What? Do you know something that I don't—for once?"

Ed gave me a look for the last remark, but answered, "No, I'm just thinking. Keep going." I did.

"And when Shadow was taking me back to the mansion, she told me that Kalki members usually go uncover in the city trying to learn things about people. But she said she couldn't tell me why because even she didn't know what Master Kalki was looking for." I paused to take a breath. "She also said that the reason why she kidnapped me because she was actually one of the librarians at East City library,"—Ed's eyes widened at these words, but thankfully no one interrupted. "And said when she told Master Kalki about me he was interested for reasons unknown, and wanted to speak with me personally." I spread my arms out in a shrug in front of me as I said, "Now why he didn't just _ask_ to speak with me is a mystery to me, but I think we need to find out more about this."

I crossed my arms across my chest as I waited for an answer. Edward thought about it; then looked to Al for his answer.

"What else do we have to do, anyways?" Al shrugged when he saw Ed's face.

"Alright! Then we're going! But…" Edward looked back to me. "Where do we start?"

I wondered why I couldn't always come up with all of the plans.

"So what I was thinking," I went on as if Edward hadn't talked at all. "Is we should try and find this Don guy ourselves, since he, to me, seemed like one of the Kalki members that would be searching for answers out on the streets than guarding the Kalki mansion for all hours of the night. But that's just me."

"Okay, I agree," Ed said with a look that said, "Calm down" but I didn't know why. "But what if we can't find anything of him here?"

I shrugged.

"Then I guess we'll just have to go to the Kalki mansion ourselves to see what we can find."

"But the military has already gone," Al interjected out of nowhere. I looked over to him.

"Okay, and were they all killed?" I asked, thinking that would be the true answer.

"No," Alphonse said, thinking. "I was told they didn't find anything."

Edward turned around.

"What? What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means they found nothing but the mansion, brother," Al said.

'He sounds like one of those snobby prep girls…' I thought.

"I know that," Ed said, sticking his tongue out at him. "But how could they have found _nothing?_"

"That's just what they said. They found nothing but bones and blood, stupid."

"Oh, so the bones were still there, and I was still supposed to know this, how?" Ed asked.

"Yes," Al answered so bluntly I actually had to strain my ears to make sure I hadn't missed a last remark after that.

"Okay, fine, whatever," finally Ed gyrated back to me. "So the first thing we have to do is find this Don guy?" he asked. I nodded. "Can you tell us anything about his appearance?"

"Yeah, but all I know is he had blonde hair, and was only a little taller than Shadow's height."

"'Only a little taller?'" Edward gave a snort. "That woman was huge!"

"Not really," I said. "She was only six feet."

"Yeah, that's tall!" Edward said.

"Well, yeah. For you, it is."


	19. What a Day

Chapter 19: What a Day

"So…" Edward didn't know what to say after hitting me with his metal arm from my last remark. The rays of light coming through the window were copper and gold, and shining on Al's metal body reflecting right into my face.

"What are we going to do right now? Go back to the mansion?" Ed asked me.

"No," I answered immediately, rubbing my arm with a scowl on my face. "We were just there. And the military said there wasn't anything to see."

"So? That doesn't mean that they didn't miss something."

"I know, but I don't want to go just yet," I said letting go of the bruise.

"Why?" Ed raised an eyebrow ignoring my glare at him.

"Because…" I gave him a stare that said, "Could you really not know?" but still stated why anyway. "I lost my glasses and my transmutation gloves way back with Hashimoto, and we still haven't gotten new ones."

"Oh…" Ed looked out the window and stood up from the bed. "Okay then, let's go."

I got up and stretched too, going with Ed's gaze to the outside.

"Okay, I—" I just thought of something. "Aren't we forgetting something?" I asked.

Edward shrugged.

"I dunno. Are we?"

I turned to him.

"It is December, right?"

Ed blinked at me. "Yeah."

"Oh… well, isn't that kind of…?" I tried to make him finish the sentence for me.

"'Kind of' what?"

"The time of year for… certain _important_ events?"

"…What are you saying, Nayru?" Ed sighed.

I just waved him off.

"Forget it…"

"Okay…" Edward looked to Al with a look on his face, but even he shrugged at Ed's inquiring stare.

"So let's hurry and get what you need before it gets dark. I have a feeling we shouldn't go out alone at night anymore."

I nodded.

"I agree. I'd rather not be stabbed and kidnapped again."

Ed laughed and smiled, which still made me blush even now.

"Yeah, I'd rather not either!"

I acted like I was scratching my head as I turned away so Ed couldn't see my face.

We walked lazily around the city, and went to the same fabric store as before to get more of the silky white cloth and blue thread for my gloves. Ed need only pressed the material between his palms, and I had transmuting gloves again for my water alchemy. I ran my fingers over the blue runes on the front sides of both of them, feeling the slightly raised string threaded in them and felt happy to have them back. This time they were all the way to the top of each finger, not halfway up like I'd gotten them before.

"Okay, so now to the optometrist?" Ed asked, eyeing my admiration for my new gloves.

"Yes." I looked up quickly as I slipped the gloves into my pocket. "Will it take them a while to manufacture my prescription?"

Ed focused on the path in front of us.

"Nah, it probably will only take a day, if that."

"Good," I breathed.

Ed hurried me to the East City square where a map could be found, but by then there were looming purple shadows.

"I see an eyeglasses shop right there." Al pointed to corner on the map that read OPTROMETRIST in huge navy blue letters. "It isn't too far," Al said as he continued to follow his metal finger from the large text to a red dot on the map that was us.

"Yeah, just down the street," Ed said, looking down the road sideways. "Let's go." He suddenly bolted down the street he had been looking. Knowing that was exactly what he would do, I chased right behind him keeping up, yet Al still hadn't caught on with his brother's hasty behavior.

"Ed! Wait up!"

"Don't be such a slow poke, Al!" Edward and I yelled in unison. I was glad our fighting was over, and couldn't help but feel happy and warm though the streets were dim and cold.

* * *

><p>"Tomorrow… that isn't too long," I said as we walked out of the eyeglasses shop. After being in there for over an hour the moon was already high in the sky, and my head hurt from all of their questions of, "Which is better? One, or two?" and tweaking all of the little gadgets and knobs on the huge face set, making me strain my eyes and crane my neck in uncomfortable ways.<p>

"Yeah, I know. I told you it wouldn't take them that long," Edward said, walking down the street as though he were in a marching band. "So are we just going back to the military hotel now?"

"Yeah," I said. "As we were saying earlier, we shouldn't stay out too late anymore."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." He slouched over. "But I don't want to go to bed _now_. I'm not tired, and that's too boring."

He groaned—I knew how he felt.

"I know. I'm not tired either. And when there is so much time left before tomorrow I can't go bed now."

I slouched over with him. We both sighed.

"Days are too short," Ed pouted.

"I agree," I whined with him.

Al stared at us like we were maniacs, but kept moving.

"You two are too weird for me."

"We know. We just do it to annoy you," I said closing my eyes halfway as I scrunched my face up to look like Ed's.

"I can tell," Al said.

"What are we going to do now?" Ed asked again, finally straightening up and getting that annoyed-sad look off of his face. I did too.

"How about you two tell me about this other world that Nayru is from?" Al asked casually, but a little pushy as well.

"Nah, let's not," Ed said, totally ignoring him and turning immediately away. I had to snicker at his bluntness, but tried not to let Al see me.

"How about we plan what we are going to do next?" Al tried again.

Ed let out a breath.

"Fine. I guess there's nothing else to do… So what _are_ we going to do tomorrow?" He looked at me as he said this, not Al.

"I'm not sure… Let's just see when we get there."

Edward yawned. "Fine by me."

"I thought you said you weren't tire," Al reminded him. Ed looked around to his brother.

"Just because I told you something doesn't make it true."

Al snorted—without a nose.

"I'll remember you said that."

* * *

><p>I woke up first the next morning for once—instead of having Ed nag me awake. I couldn't wait to be able to see again, and I was sure that these glasses would be even better than the ones I'd had since I'd needed a new prescription for the last year. It was even a style I liked as the frame. I liked red glasses, but not much of anything else that was red except Ed's coat. I focused my eyes to see the same exact red coat I was thinking of draped on the chair between the beds. Though I had been here for three months, I couldn't help that it still wasn't real somehow.<p>

Alphonse was always gone when I got up, and I also saw Edward sleeping for… the first time, actually.

He did look cute—in more ways than one—as he slept there, but he looked kind of cold. It was a little chilly in the room, but it wasn't enough to make one huddle under the covers like it was below zero, was it? Then I felt stupid when I remembered he had two metal limbs. Oops.

I noticed he didn't snore that much as Arakawa-sensei always suggested in the manga—probably about the same as I did. My sister always told me I was a loud breather when I slept, meaning I snored a little. But Ed didn't snore as much as I thought he would, if that's how people said I sounded.

Suddenly I felt cold, too, just lying there thinking. I tried ducking farther under the linens, but they were cold from being turned up the whole night. I looked around, but there weren't any other blankets or cabinets in the room. I looked back over to Ed. I didn't want to wake him up; he looked so comfortable—even when he was cold. I wondered what he'd do if…

I flitted out of my bed and into the other, right next to Edward.

He grunted a little, but didn't wake. I got closer; he didn't wake. I touched him with my foot; still no movement. I snuggled closer and grabbed Ed's metal arm. I pulled it toward me. It was too cold. This was one of the times I wish I could detach Ed's automail and chuck it across the room for my own comfort (not saying when I've wanted to do that before, guess yourself). I flung it back across his chest, the weight making his whole body turn. I scooted closer again. Edward twitched; I stayed still. He turned over. Our faces were facing each other now. I saw him squint his golden eyes from the light, but close them again. I held my breath and moved even closer. I was much warmer now. His breath was toasty on my nose, so I closed my eyes.

"What are you doing here?" Ed asked. My stomach flipped up-side-down.

"Hm?" I tried to make it seem like I had been asleep there for a while.

"What are you doing in my bed?" Edward gasped and shot up, taking some of the covers with him.

"I was cold," I mumbled with half of my face in his pillow as I tried to get some of the covers back.

"Yeah, but what are you doing in my bed?" Ed demanded in a high tone.

I opened my eyes and gave a sheepish smile. How to cover this up…?

"Happy birthday," I said. I saw Ed's shocked eyes grow into taken-aback stare.

"Wh-what?"

"Happy 13. Only three more years until you're sixteen." Only I knew why that was a big deal.

He watched me as I slowly sat up to face him at eye level.

"How did you know?" he asked, still watching me half shock, half appreciative.

I sniffed through my nose.

"Don't you remember? I know everything about you."

He looked down at where his hand was. He quickly slipped it away from being unknowingly on top of my fingers.

"Okay, we should—we should—" He looked around the room as though hoping Al might burst in to save him.

"Let's get your glasses!" he half yelled as he jumped out of the bed and grabbed his black-red outfit from the chair. He nearly ripped his black over coat in half as he pulled it over his arm. I giggled a little.

"What are you looking at?" he asked. "Let's go!" He slammed the door behind with a rush of wind. I saw his boots still lying next to the bed and sighed. He'd forgotten them.

Ed was a dummy, but he was many other things too.

* * *

><p>"Al! There you are!" Ed barked in my ear the second Al appeared around the corner on the street making me jolt.<p>

"They aren't done with Nayru's glasses yet," Al told us as I came behind Ed who gave me chocked look before turning back to Al.

"That wasn't what I was going to ask anyway, but good to know," Ed said, trying to act like I wasn't there. Even though we had just gotten finished fighting, I felt kind of happy about the way Ed was acting for some reason.

"Do you know when they'll be done?" Ed asked.

"They said two hours," Al said. "They weren't expecting us to come in this early."

"Oh… So what are we going to do while we're waiting?"

I knew Edward was asking me this question instead of Al, even though he looked up at Al as he said it. 'He must still feel weird after he'd standing outside the military hotel for half an hour, waiting for me without any shoes…' I thought. I let slip a chortle as I reminisced the scene.

"Well, I wanted to do something, but would you like to do something instead? Since it is—"

"I don't care, what do you want to do?" Ed asked quickly still not looking at me.

I shook my head not believing Edward Elric was actually acting like this. But it was funny.

"Where's a hair place?" I asked.

"Why?" Ed asked. "You don't need your hair done. It looks fine."

"I don't want it '_done'_, I want it _cut_," I said.

Alphonse, by now, had given up on trying to make us tell him everything, so just gestured behind him as he said, "There's a hair salon this way."

I followed him. Ed finally turned and looked at me as I went by him.

"What do you mean you want to get it cut? It looks fine! You don't need it cut!"

I laughed as he kept skipping a couple steps to keep up with me. "I've never gotten it cut before," I said as I pushed past him. "And it's annoying me, just like you." Ed subsided.

"I thought you liked me," he said with a small voice as I walked on without him, but he didn't say it with that same Elric grin I knew.

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean you rule me."

I looked straight forward as I walked on behind Al's massive metal body, but when I looked back, all I saw were people with bored expressions scurrying across the streets and sidewalks as they went on with their boring lives. Yet none of those bored faces was Edward's…

* * *

><p>"Alright, let's go to the eyeglasses shop now," Alphonse suggested as we marched out the door of the salon.<p>

"Okay," I said, pushing my new smooth bangs back from my forehead.

Ed was leaning against the brick wall with his arms crossed as we walked by him.

"Yeah, yeah, what took you two so long? You were in there for over an hour, and it looks like you didn't even get your hair cut."

"I'm sorry, when did you get here?" I asked him. He gave me a look.

"Well, since it's been a while, I guess we should go back to the optometrist," Al asserted interrupting Ed's thoughts. I said nothing.

"I'll lead the way." He barged in front of the both of us making the crowd spread apart like a wake.

Ed didn't look at me.

"Why didn't you get your hair cut?" he asked.

I didn't really know what else to say but the truth. "Because I knew you didn't want me to, so I just got bangs."

"Really long ones," Ed added.

"So do you want to do anything for your birthday?" I asked quietly so Al couldn't hear, since it seemed as though even his own brother had forgotten his birthday.

"No," Edward said watching people go past, who had surprised expressions. "I don't want to make a big deal about it. And even if Al remembered, there's nothing I would want to do anyway except find out what this stupid Kalki organization is."

I felt sympathy for him, but I knew how he felt.

"You don't want to do _anything_ else?" I asked. His gaze slowly rose from the pavement to look at me.

"No, what would I do? You not hacking off your hair is enough for me. There's nothing else in the world I'd rather be doing."

Now he didn't specify what exactly it _was_ we were doing, but I smiled to myself anyways. I was pretty sure I knew…


	20. Retracing Steps

Chapter 20: Retracing Steps

"I still think it's sad," I said. Edward looked up at me. I could finally see his face again with my glasses.

"I still think that even your own brother should remember your birthday."

"Eh, it's okay." Ed shrugged, stepping back from the transmutation marks he had been examining as he held a torch high in the air. "Not like I really celebrated his either."

"Yeah, but you remembered," I whispered. Ed's gaze went to the floor for a second, but then he stared back into the stone basin-like structure we'd found in the floor of the dungeon below the Kalki mansion.

"You didn't forget…"

Ed sighed.

"Yeah, I know, but Al has enough on his mind right now. I just want to get his body back sooner than later…" He trailed far off into his memories, and didn't come back again until after a clink was heard around the bend. "So let's just hurry and find out what this Kalki organization is so we can get back to locating the Philosopher's Stone."

He moved behind me as Al turned the corner to meet up with us.

"There wasn't anything in the room they locked me in before," Al said as he slowly came to a stop by us.

"Nothing at all?" Ed asked.

"Nope," Al said. Edward put a hand on his chin.

"Hm… Here, hold this."

I took the torch he shoved in my face from his hands, but right after a blue light blinded me as Ed clapped his hands to the basin. Now there wasn't a basin, but a black hole with a small wall bordering it that I could not see the bottom to. Ed put his hands on his sides.

"Did they really think _that_ would keep me out?" Ed smirked with a satisfaction.

"Keep you out of where?" I asked staring blankly into the pit.

"Their escaping outlet," Ed declared still looking satisfied with himself. "Since that's obviously what this is."

I could just see Al roll his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, brother."

We stayed there and watched the hole as though we thought Ebla or a million of those black ninjas would pop out of it at any second.

"So who's going first?" Al asked. "It could just be a trap, you know."

"I know," Ed said. "But that Kalki guy said not to harm us."

"Yeah, but that Kalki guy was also killed and eaten by Ebla if you don't remember," Al reminded him.

"Nope, I didn't remember that part," Ed said not looking at his brother. "Okay… Nayru, gimme that torch," Ed ordered not looking at me, only the hole.

'Jeez, he can't still be embarrassed after a whole day, can he?' I rolled my eyes a little myself and shook my head slightly, but of course, there was no one else to answer my question. I handed the flames to Ed. He tossed it immediately down the hole as though it had burnt his hand when he touched it.

It echoed down… farther down… _way_ down. Finally, we heard it hit something. Edward and I peered over the side. Way in the blackness, I saw a tiny speck half the size of my fingernail that was our barely burning torch. I heard Ed scoff.

"Well I guess we can't jump down there."

I turned away from the only light there was to see only the flame's reflection in the white of Ed's golden eyes that were watching me as he thought.

"But we can do something else," I reminded him. His eyes lit up a little. This time I clapped my hands.

I closed my eyes as my hands hit the damp floor and concentrated my inner feelings toward the very bottom of the pit. There was a lot of water there—just my specialty—though it was kind of hard to see with my inner eye since I still wasn't too good at alchemy.

I heard splashing noises, but did not open my eyes so I could still 'see' what I was doing.

The noise stopped as it got closer, and I felt my grasp on the particles tighten and relax as there was the crunching sound of freezing ice colliding with itself. I lifted my hands off of the cold cobblestone and looked to see a dome of ice above the small holes' circular wall.

"Yay! I did it!" I cheered for myself as I clapped my sopping hands together with a happy expression just to entertain myself.

"Yeah, you did," Ed said. "That was pretty far down. I didn't think you'd be able to do it. Nice job."

I beamed at him with a huge grin.

"But," Edward resumed. I stopped dead in my happy prance around the hole. "Now you have to take us down too," Ed said with a devilish smile.

"Wha—? But—I've never made something melt before, much less freeze," I said.

"Well there's—"

"I know, I know. 'There's always a first time', I know."

Ed was set back that I knew his lines, but didn't say anything along with Al as we loaded onto the ice platform.

I took a deep breath and put my hands to face themselves, then to the ice again. I felt my grip below our feet get unstable and slippery, but soon I corrected my mistake of transmuting too fast and refroze the water particles. They snapped back together again, and this time I only took control of the water right below our ice platform. We descended farther down the pit slowly. It took so long I wasn't sure how far we'd gone, but suddenly as I remembered Al was right there beside with all of his armor's weight and Ed with his automail my hands started shaking with nerve, and our decent got much bumpier.

"Nayru, it's okay."

'You have to do this,' I told myself. 'You have to be able to do this.'

My watery tower hit something hard, and then all the water was gone. We were at the bottom. I'd made it. I opened my eyes to smile at the face next to mine, but it wasn't Ed's.

Al gave me as much of an earnest stare as his metal body would allow, then straightened out to see where Ed had run to already. Being slightly shocked, I stayed where I was.

"WHAT?" I heard a voice scream. "THERE CAN'T BE ANOTHER WALL, CAN THERE?"

Al sprinted around the corner. Once I got myself to cooperate, I followed him to find Edward holding the almost-out torch and pressing his hands feverishly to the wall—no blue sparks emitted.

"Why isn't my alchemy working?" Ed asked the wall as he kept on pressing but getting nothing.

I clapped my own hands to see for myself. There seemed to be a wall there, another wall, behind the one my hands were pressed to, of… something… something that I could not touch…

"There seems to be something behind the wall," I said. Ed gave me a distressed glance, but then also focused his feelings to what he could—or more like couldn't—feel.

He took his hands away.

"There's a wall of obsidian and diamond behind there," Ed informed Al and I. "Even machines can't break through those minerals, so alchemy can't either. Let me see here…"

He tried the wall again.

"Nope, there're two layers of diamond and obsidian encasing the whole tunnel past here. There's no way we can get through. Dammit, I guess they knew what they were doing after all…"

I thought of something.

"If they didn't want anybody finding their escape route and were capable of surrounding a whole tunnel with obsidian and diamond, then why wouldn't they also cover up the large bowl-like hole that was the entrance to this cave in the first place? You'd think if they were able to do that, then they'd also be able to hide their entrance, wouldn't you?"

Ed's eyes widened.

"What if they _didn't_ want to hide the entrance?"

I took a breath and I'm sure I looked as though I were staring at the Truth. I could just feel myself tense up with the excitement and fear at the same time at Ed's words as my eyes grew bigger than his.

"What if they needed someone to find the entrance, so they knew where to find them?" Ed continued on. "But then I don't see how they'd be able to get past this impenetrable wall after they did. Unless there's some way to do it, or there's someone waiting for them on the other side…"

Alphonse swayed uncomfortably behind us.

"So… then who are they waiting for to let in?"

"I don't know," Ed said as he turned slowly to his brother. "Maybe we'll just have to wait here and see."

We waited for who-knows-how-long in the dark—since our torch finally did go out—but no one came. Not only did no one come, but there wasn't even the slightest sound or movement on the other side of the tunnel, or above us.

I'm not sure if hours or days passed, but finally we gave up.

"Let's just go, brother. No one's coming," Al said.

"Fine, fine, I guess you're right," Ed grumbled.

Al sighed, and stood with a clang against the wall.

"Let's go."

Ed looked at me.

"You, get us back up," he commanded, pointing at me.

I only nodded as I went to stand next to him. I clapped the blue runes on my palms together and my ice panel lifted us up to the top again, where there was still only more darkness.

"I can't see a thing," I heard Edward say as I saw his dark red figure jump off the ice and back onto level ground. Al's clinking doddering told me he was off too. I followed them down off the ice after freezing all the water under it, but bumped into someone.

"Ow! You stepped on my foot!" Edward hissed.

"Sorry…" I murmured, though I was pretty sure it was his left foot.

"Where's the wall when you need it…?"

"…Ah, here it is!"

A giant metal clap rung around the dungeon walls, and then blue light came from Al's transmutation.

Edward grinned.

"Nice work, Al. I'll take it from here." He slammed both hands to the wall and ran around the bend gleefully like he was following a leprechaun to the other side of the rainbow.

"Hurry up! You guys take too long!" Ed shouted over his shoulder as his blue light disappeared around the corner. I heard his tall-bottomed boots halted to a stop and squeaked as he rotated them. As the last of the blue transmutation faded I turned the corner and saw Edward facing Al and I at the bottom of the winding staircase.

"Why don't we just take the way we entered?" Al inquired to Edward. "There's still a hole in the ceiling because of it."

Edward's boots made a squeak against the floor that told me he'd turned around again.

"Oh well, too late now!"

More of Ed's tremendous clonking steps sounded throughout the area as more blue light weaved around the spiral center of the stairs. Al gave me a glance as I chased Ed up the stairs, but I ran into him again as soon as Al vanished around the bend.

"Ah!"

My balance was slipping from the step I was on. Edward grabbed my arm, the metal fingers of his right arm dug into my mine. He pulled me back up.

"Be more careful!" Edward jeered holding my arm in between us.

"I was! Don't just stop in the middle of the stairway!" I jerked my arm away and looked around him.

"On the ground… there's… something on the…"

"Hm? Oh, yeah. That's where Ebla got Shadow," Ed said this as though it was no big deal.

"Oh… okay…"

I couldn't see the dry blood too well in the dark, but I did see a whole couple stairs were covered in it. There was enough to make me be able to see it with the lack of light, so that was enough to show how much there was. It was spilled down the steps in neat lines like bloody fingers on the hands of murderers… They swayed back and forth peacefully, as they reached out to scratch the bare backs of the damned. Little evil giggles were heard from the white pairs gleaming eyes were pit less and absent minded. More of them came to the tearing, ripping, snacking, of—

"Are you okay?" Edward asked eyeing the blood spread on the steps. I shook myself and tried to get the unpleasant images out of my head.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I quickly looked up to the rest of the stairs. "Let's go." I clapped my hands to the wall and started jogging up the stone steps. Both of the brothers were staring at me as I turned around the column. What was that in their eyes? Remorse? Fear? Of what?

Or more like, what was that in _Edward's_ eyes? Did I sense he knew something I didn't? Maybe he knows more about me just as I know more about him…

'Huh,' I thought to myself. 'Like an "equivalent exchange"…' I chuckled at my thoughts as I reached the door at the end of the stairs. I opened it a crack, and many rays of afternoon light shined through behind me as I looked back down the stairs.

But what exactly was it Edward knew?


	21. Stepping Along

Chapter 21: Stepping Along

"They've posted a guard at the pit's entrance just as you instructed, sir!" A military guard snapped into salute in front of us.

"Yeah, yeah, I already heard." Edward waved him off to the side. He turned his head to me and Al. Back in East HQ once again, busy troops of the Amestrian military hurried by as they carried on with their work to serve their superiors' commands.

"Why do we have to go see Roy _again_?" I asked again. Ed sighed.

"I don't really know, honestly. I think we have to give him our report of what exactly it is we're doing since we didn't actually get assigned to this mission."

"Oh… But I thought Roy gave you the mission to go to the Kalki mansion?"

"Yeah, he gave us the mission of your kidnaping, but he didn't give us the mission of investigating the Kalki mansion."

I looked away in disgust.

'Nosy little pricks. No wonder being a "dog of the military" gets annoying.'

"I wonder when we'll be assigned our next mission… Probably today, don't you think?" I thought aloud.

Edward looked over to me then away as he said, "I'm wondering that too. But yeah, you are probably right." We swerved out of the way as a tall dark-skinned man barreled past us. He gave us the 'evil eye' as he passed, and I recognized him as Lt. General Raven. What was he doing in East City?

"I kind of have a bad feeling about this meeting," Ed whispered so only I could hear.

I stared back to Al and the man as I answered, "Yeah, so do I."

When we reached Roy's office again, we opened the door to find he was not in his desk with the usual bored stare. It was empty.

"Where's Colonel Mustang?" Ed asked the empty room.

"I don't know…" Al answered him vaguely, as though Ed had been asking him—which he hadn't. Edward shifted back to his brother just as someone strode up behind us, moving fast.

"There you are."

"Lieutenant Hawkeye, what is it?" Al eyed her—so did Ed and I.

"Colonel Mustang is waiting for you in the conference room. There are many other militant officials also waiting for you in there," she informed us as she turned on her heel to lead us to the right spot. We gave each other nervous glances, but followed her reluctantly.

"What's this about?" Ed asked.

"I'm not sure," she said, just as everyone else. "All I know is many important officers are waiting here, wanting to talk to you with vacant expressions. So I'm not sure if you did something…"

Her blond hair piece bobbed up and down as she hurried ahead of us. Her right arm was squeezed against her chest as she held a clipboard, and none of us spoke until we'd found the door to the conference room.

"Now remember not to speak out of turn, or say anything rash, alright, Edward?" Riza gave him, and only him, an intense scrutiny with her hand on the golden handle of the door.

"I know, I know," Ed mumbled. "You treat me like I'm a kid."

Riza smiled as her face softened.

"It's because you still are."

Ed looked up at her, but before he could say anything she turned the handle, and sitting inside the conference were five bored faces. One of them was Roy's, and another General Raven's, but the other three I may have seen in that same room before, but I couldn't even remember their names.

"The Fullmetal Alchemist has arrived, Major General Hakuro, sir," Riza nearly shouted into the large room. The man at the head of the table nodded his blond head.

"Thank you, Lieutenant Hawkeye," General Raven gave her a bow with his head. "Now you may return to your duties." Riza straightened into a salute.

"Sir!"

She spun around and left the room. I saw Roy look to the floor as the door closed behind her.

"So…" One of the men folded his hands in front of him. The man sitting at the head of the table, Major General Hakuro, the Amestrian flag of the white lion ready to strike above him, and his traumatizing gaze stayed upon us. The lion wrapped in diamonds was a sign of pride—a county, this country's pride.

'Oh they have pride alright,' I jeered to myself. 'More than anyone_ I_ know…'

I remembered something. One of the worst times to get flash backs, yes, but it wasn't as though I could control it.

_Pride._ Yes, Pride the homunculus. He was a lot like… Ebla… Well, I always knew that, but Pride and Ebla weren't the same. The real Pride was boastful and a large shadow creature with many eyes and mouths, but as for Ebla, he was _exactly_ the same thing, only… smaller… Now what else was it I remembered…? They were like… _What was it?_

"I understand you and your two assistants have been investigating the Kalki premise," the broad-faced Major General Hakuro said with a frown. Then he paused as though waiting for us to finish the rest of his thought.

"Yes…?" Edward asked. I saw his metal hand clenching, and unclenching as he tried to keep his temper. He knew what was coming, and I knew he utterly despised the military.

The way Ed's metal fingers kept moving, swaying, twitching around each other was all of a sudden so… entertaining to me… As though the most important thing in the world was making sure my eyes did not stop watching the hand… Then I saw more of them in my eyes, all mimicking the one under the crimson sleeve. So many of the moving metal hands flashed before my eyes I could focus on nothing but them. The words of the unannounced superiors glided through my head; I did not hear a word of what they were saying, or what notice what anyone's actions were. Suddenly the metal hand flinched, and was grasped in an angry fist as it jumped forward by a couple inches along with the sleeve and the many other sets of fingers in my head. The faint voices I heard in the back of my head grew slightly louder, and sounded like a voice I knew, but could not think of at the moment… As though they were close to me, but I could not remember their name, only the metal hands.

Whispers then began planting their unpleasant thoughts in my head, but how, I do not know, for they were speaking in another language entirely. I had never heard it before.

"What?" I whispered back to them, still watching the metal fingers as they trembled with fury. They only cackled as they breathed more of their instructions. "It will be done." The voices grew softer, tamer, as though finally satisfied, and the glittering fingers of the metal hands started to cease away from being burned into my vision. The hand hung at its' accompanies' side loosely, and moved back to the position it had been earlier.

"It doesn't matter! You must check with your superiors first before you go charging off into a case that may not even concern you, or the military! Orders of the Führer himself!"

I immediately looked back up from the ground to see Major General Hakuro had arisen from his seat, and was yelling at Edward, hands on the table, sweating.

"Now I'm not going to fight with a 12-year-old! You must check in with Colonel Mustang"—who I saw was sitting with his arms and legs crossed and eyes closed, probably wondering why he was here—"before you get involved with a mission that may already be taken care of!"

"And I'm telling you I'm just trying to find out the truth of what these damn Kalki members are—"

"THAT'S IT!" I uncontrollably screamed. Everyone jumped at the same time and even I don't know why I had done it. 'That's what?' I asked myself in my head.

"What's what?" Edward murmured, unlocking his and the Major General's glare. I didn't know what to say. Even I didn't know the answer.

"Uh—I—" The men at the table cast me ungrateful stares. "Sorry," I muttered as I shrunk behind Edward.

As the two men continued their erratic yells at the other, my hearing went dim for yet another minute and one last voice spoke to me. This time, in words I could understand. But even then with a horrible slur.

'_Well done.' _It ginned.

* * *

><p>The whole time I tried to remember, <em>desperately<em> tried to remember what I had been thinking while Edward and Major General Hakuro were arguing. It had been important—so important—and yet all I could remember was watching Ed's metal fingers as though they were the most interesting thing in the world.

"What got into you?" I expected Ed or Al to ask, but neither did. They were either too ticked off to care, or they knew something that I didn't… Either way, it didn't really matter, now we were to be monitored by at least two soldiers at all times to make sure we didn't disobey again. We were to stay in the military dorm hotel for the rest of the day, and discontinue our search on the Kalki organization as though it never existed. Now gee, what did that sound like? Is there something the military doesn't want us to know or find? I knew the answer, but I knew Ed and Al still didn't… Maybe I should tell them, but what would that do to the chronological timeline of Fullmetal Alchemist?

"_Why_ does this always happen to us?" Edward droned loudly as the guards nearly nudged the three of us the whole way to the military hotel through East HQ—since they were connected. "Why can't we just do what we want for once instead of having our leashes so tight?" He gave the two men a sideways glance behind him, but they ignored him, being stiff and all-business like many of the soldiers from the Central City HQ.

We got to the hotel, but Edward did not go through the threshold. He refused to, I did as well.

"What are you waiting for? Go through," one of the men commanded. Edward stayed where he was. I thought of moving since Al was already heading up the stairs, but he stopped at seeing our hesitation. I stayed with him and slipped my hands in my pockets. I knew what he was up to: time to ditch 'em, with or without Al.

"Oh, Ed, don't try it. Not now. Come on, brother."

We didn't listen. At precisely the same time we clapped our hands, stunning the guard, and ran like crazy people down the main hall with the guard chasing, and people turning, and staring. I didn't even hear the yells of the stiff as we ran out the exit door over the sound of our clomping feet, or the thumping of my excited heart. It was time to see for ourselves what was in that cave.

* * *

><p>"They still haven't gotten anything; that we know," Edward told me as we bustled down one of the back streets of the city after we'd finally gotten away from the guard, though I wasn't sure that was such a good idea considering what had happened to us last time we were in a back street.<p>

"We know Ebla is now the leader of Kalki, or at least, pretty sure. And we know that there is a tunnel below the dungeon they escaped into that is covered in diamond."

"And obsidian," I interjected.

"That too," Ed panted; he looked around the dimming street, but finally stopped and looked at me. "What are we going to do? We can't get through the layers of diamond and obsidian with alchemy or machines, and we can't wait around forever for a straggler to try get in themselves. Not to mention that no one is even watching the entrance anymore because we 'disobeyed orders.'" Ed rolled his eyes. "We need to find a way to get through those layers of material." Edward put a hand to his chin as he looked into the distance of his thoughts. "But how…?"

'Wait a second, minerals… and alchemy?'

"Do you think it _could_ be possible to get through that wall with alchemy?" I asked.

Edward looked at me and shrugged.

"I don't know, it might be possible, but…"

"What if we got someone whose specialty was mineral alchemy?" I inquired, knowing Edward would reject my thoughts, but he didn't see what I was trying to point out.

"Okay…?"

"What about someone we know, like… oh, I don't know… Hashimoto Yearu?"

I knew it.

"What? Him? No! He's a criminal! And there's no way for us to get him out of prison—"

"Oh, come on," I interrupted. "You and I both know he could do it if he can control a whole army of mineral-based soldiers, and we also know that it would only take some bribing to get him out of there."

"But—he isn't going to help us after we're the ones who arrested him. Especially after you shot him."

"You don't know that," I snapped. "I don't know about you, but he didn't really seem like a bad guy to me."

Ed shook his head. "Are you crazy? There's no way—"

"DO YOU HAVE A BETTER PLAN?" I finally screamed.

Edward looked surprised but said, "No, I guess not."

"Then what do we have to lose?"

"Well, we could get arrested for breaking the law," he stated. I laughed a little.

"Since when has breaking a law stopped you?"

Ed nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

* * *

><p>'Great. Big Brother and Nayru have run off into crazy land again.' Alphonse couldn't help but always feel left out at their hasty actions. They always ran off into some area without him, not even looking back to see if he was following.<p>

'Well… I guess I have to get to them somehow. I don't want to leave them alone, and I don't want to be left alone either.'

Alphonse looked at the black-haired guard who was leading him up the stairs while the other was long gone chasing after Edward and Nayru. But even he wasn't paying Al much attention. Al knew this wouldn't take much.

"So, when do you think your buddy will catch them?" Al asked calmly.

"Hm?" He looked around to Al, alarmed to have such an adolescent voice coming out of the massive tower of metal. "Oh, I think he'll be back in just a second. No one I've ever seen can outrun Harpire for long. That I know of, of course."

They got to the top of the steps, and were the only ones on the balcony peering down over the lobby.

"So I guess we should just—"

Alphonse hit him on the head, and he fell to the floor without a sound. Al carried the man to his room, and shut the door behind him so no one would see the body. He then hurried back down the stairs, and seeing no one had heard or noticed what he'd done, he scuttled out the front entrance.


	22. Jail Break

Chapter 22: Jail Break

"Why do you have to go in by yourself, again?" Edward whispered in my ear while we were hiding in the bushes against the forest next to the East City prison.

"Because—everyone knows who you are. You're the Fullmetal Alchemist who became a State Alchemist when you were only 12! But as for me, I'm sure no one has even heard of me. Much less know what I look like if no one even knows that you're… short."

"WH—?"

I elbowed him in the stomach before he could draw any attention to us.

"Ow! What the hell was that for? My stomach still hurts from being stabbed by that-creepy-shadow-lady when _you_ ran off," Edward hissed. I rolled my eyes.

"Yes, yes, I know. Mine does too. And don't call her 'that-creepy-shadow-lady', because she wasn't all that creepy."

"Oh, right, she stabbed _both_ of us and she's a good person. Just like Hashimoto, right?"

I stuck my tongue out at him and held out my hand.

"Just give me the money."

Edward handed me a wad of bills he'd pulled out of his pocket but said, "That's only 300 cenz. It won't be enough to bribe _all_ of these guards with, much less Hashimoto."

"How much is it?" I asked. Edward blinked.

"300 cenz. What, am I supposed to compare it to, Xingese currency?" he asked sarcastically.

"Sorry, I don't know how much that is," I said giving him a face. "…I think I heard it was about as much as Japanese yen in my world so… about 3 dollars?" I frowned. "Surely you have more." I gave his coat pocket a pat-down and reached to feel inside.

"No, I don't have anymore!" Edward said, stumbling back to get away from me. "And it's not like we can go to the bank to get more either because we're wanted within the military. Unless you have money."

"I know we can't, and no, I don't have any money." I took a deep breath. "Okay, time for me to go." I stood up.

"What? Already?"

"Yeah, we can't sit here forever. I need to know what that Ebla is up to."

'And something else too,' I reminded myself.

"Okay, but you'd better be able to get past those guards without needing any money or clearance, because we don't have either of those."

"Bye, Ed!" I waved as I cavorted to the front entrance.

"WHY ARE YOU TAKING THE FRONT ENTRANCE, YOU IDIOT?"

I didn't answer him. I was already through the front door.

"Hello, miss, can I help you?" the man at the front desk asked as soon as I entered. He immediately hung up the phone he had been talking on and rose from his chair to watch me. I needed to improvise.

"Oh, hello. I just got lost and I needed assistance to the nearest hotel. I have nowhere to stay for the night, so I was just wondering if maybe you could direct me to the best one." Surprisingly I didn't stutter or pause at all as I said this like I thought I would.

"Oh, of course." His hard face became gentler. "Right this way." He walked down a dark hall to another office, and I followed.

I still had my gloves on, and knew exactly what to do. As he stopped at his door with his hand outstretched to let me go in first, I hooked my hands together at my front like any woman would hold them, but then swiftly move to a hand an inch away from the man's head. He could not speak as a green transmutation spurted around him, and he fell to the floor. Being the only one in the dark hall, no one else noticed, and now I was to roam around the rest of the jail freely. I just had to find Hashimoto's file and location first…

Though the man was passed out in the doorway, I knew he wouldn't be seen or waking up any time soon. It was too dark, and I'd juggled all of the liquid in his brain around so much that it wouldn't be able to straighten itself out for a while yet. I didn't have to search long until I found what I was looking for—almost. I didn't see Hashimoto Yearu's criminal file in the file cabinets beside the—as I thought he was—warden's desk, but I did find a map showing who was kept where, and where all of the other guard posts were in his desk drawer.

'Perfect,' I sang to myself as I rolled up the map. It was better than I thought, but then I heard the footsteps of someone approaching.

"Sir, the prisoners won't keep it down on the second level. Will you please—?"

I put a hand to his head and did the same with him as I had done with the warden.

'There better not be too many more of these guys,' I told myself as he dropped to his knees and then on top of the other man. 'If that be the case I'll be facing the whole prison guard by myself in no time.'

* * *

><p>Alphonse ran faster and faster, realizing how late it was starting to get in the day. He did not want Nayru or Ed wandering out in the forest by themselves, even though that was exactly what he was doing. He could handle more than their fragile bodies though, with his metal one. But since Al could not transmute without a circle it was much harder following the trail of blood droplets through the dirt, and he was sure he was going the wrong way… Not only that, but it seemed as though there was too much blood for just a simple knife piercing in the stomach that he was finding. But what else could it be?<p>

Al followed the blood trail farther, and farther, but got nowhere fast. The sun was already halfway to the other side of the sky, and he still wasn't at the Kalki mansion; he must be doing something wrong. Finally a building came into sight, but it was not the looming structure he had hoped, to his great surprise, it was a building on the outskirts of… East City? How did Alphonse end back up where he started? This didn't make any sense, he was sure when he'd started he had been following the right path. Was it possible in the middle he'd turned around? Or had he gotten mixed up with someone else's trail of blood?

Though Al was on the completely other side of East City, it was still weird. What had caused him to wind up here, who knew, but Al couldn't just ignore this pit-stop. He could tell by the balance of the hormones in the blood it was in fact female—since he had had a lot of time to tell the difference when he researched human transmutation—but it had gotten much thicker as time went on, instead of decrease as he expected it to, _and_ led him here. Should he go in by himself? There was a chance he couldn't get back here again if he left, but he knew he should never go into someplace on his own, even if he did have a body of steel.

* * *

><p>'What's taking her so long?' Edward shifted uncomfortably outside the prison. 'Where is she?'<p>

Edward thought of everything that could have gone wrong inside, even if it did still look perfectly fine outside the doors.

'She'll come out soon,' Ed assured himself, though he still teetered nervously on his heels as he crouched in the underbrush of the bushes against the forest. 'No need to go after her, she's fine.'

Edward groaned at his own stubbornness. He couldn't go. If she _was_ fine in there, like he knew she was, then he'd only cause trouble if negotiations were going well, and if she wasn't, then someone would have to get Hashimoto out of there when things cooled down, and it sure as hell wasn't going to be him or Al, so he had to just leave her be… But he couldn't.

He swerved, he swayed, he looked into the woods to try and get his mind off of it, and even excavated a hole in the dirt below his feet to make a large dip in the earth, but he could not stop thinking about her. Ed stood up. He was going in. It didn't matter how worried or sure he was that she would be fine, he just had to—

He crouched back down.

"The warden never knows or cares about anything that is going on in the middle of the prison as long as _he_ doesn't have to deal with it. So I'm sure I'll be fine if I eat this pie," the young soldier told the woman next to him as he took a bag from her hands. They stood in front of the prison entrance.

"Really, are you sure?" the woman asked incredulously, letting go of the paper bag.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. Everything passes through his ears, even the expensive heating bills." The boy looked hungrily into the bag and licked his lips. "Thanks, see you later, mom." He waved to her before opening the door.

"Just be careful, dear," she told him as he stepped farther inside the building.

"I will, I will," he said half annoyed half heartfelt. The door closed behind him.

Edward wasn't really thinking of Nayru anymore—he missed his mother… But that was a wish long gone. He shouldn't even be thinking it anymore, yet he couldn't resist. All he'd wanted was to see her smile again…

Edward shook his head. _Now wasn't the time_. He needed to focus on people who were still _living_. But with that information, Ed was much more confident Nayru would be fine with a daft warden ruling the place if she could slip past all of the other guards, but he still couldn't be too sure… What if she had an episode while she was in there? She'd had two in the last 24 hours! Perhaps she'd had even more in her dreams, but Edward could not read her in her sleep, so he had no idea. All he needed to do was wait for her to come out and see she was fine. Then they'd finally be able to go down to the cave under the Kalki mansion, find Ebla and the rest of the members of the Kalki, and then get back to finding the Philosopher's Stone. Edward didn't care if she knew he would find it in however long, he still needed to search for it, or, instead, he might even make her tell him where it is…

'All in good time,' Edward thought, but he knew she wouldn't divulge her secrets so easily. Maybe it was time for him to do a little bribing himself. He had to get Al's body back, no matter what it cost…

* * *

><p>Finding my way through the jail was not quite as hard as I thought it would be. It was actually easier than navigating my school! Not even any of the prisoners seemed to notice me as I crept silently past the guards; was it really already time for bed? Maybe it was just dark in the prison because there were scarcely any windows.<p>

I arrived at Hashimoto's cell, ducking just out of sight of a passing guard, and knocked a knuckle on the bars. From the shadows I heard a movement, but I did not see a face.

"Psst, Hashimoto," I whispered. The figure on the cot stood and came to the light where I could see him. I backed away.

"You!" he hissed; it was definitely Hashimoto. "Why are you here? Come to apologize?" he asked quietly. I grinned a little.

"No, better," I said. "I'm here to get you out."

Hashimoto blinked.

"What?" he asked aloud.

"Sh! Quiet! I'm here to get you out of here. Now all I need is you to promise that you won't run away from me as soon as we get out, got it?" Hashimoto raised his eyebrows.

"Why would I? They'll be chasing me anyway, and why should I trust _you?_ My shoulder still hurts, you know."

It was weird talking to a prisoner—especially one you had caught and shot yourself.

"No time to explain. Come on." I beckoned him forward and looked both ways to make sure no one was coming.

"You have to tell me what you're up to first. I'm not moving until you at least give me the general outline." He crossed his arms. I groaned.

"Okay, look, I know you know what the military is trying to do to Amestris, and you didn't really steal ideas from other Alchemists. The military only said that because you were on their trail, and if you help me with this, then I promise you it won't be for the well-being of the military. We are already in trouble for pursuing this as far as we have, and we are almost there. I fear that if I don't correct this then the whole balance of the universe will be out of whack. All of it depends on me."

Hashimoto looked impressed.

"The whole balance of the universe?" he inquired. "That's quite a reasonability… Why do you say that this is a matter of that magnitude?"

"That doesn't matter now. We have to go!"

Hashimoto put his arms back to his side and gave me a sumptuous look.

"What makes you tell _me_ to hurry? I can't get out of here on my own. You kind of need the _key_," he said. I have him an equal look back.

"You and I both know that I don't need a key. You can get out yourself." Then when I thought about it, why hadn't they bound his hands so he couldn't transmute?

As though reading my thoughts, Hashimoto answered, "Yes, you are right. I broke out of my restraints a long time ago." He gestured to the remnants of wood and a metal lock at the side of his cot. "Too bad my time in prison was short-spent." He stretched his hands out in front of himself, and then got into position.

"Well, here goes." The blue light that came from his alchemy melted the iron bars into nothing but a pile of mush, which he stepped daintily over.

"Time to go," he chanted, running the direction I had come from before I could even look up from the mess he'd made of his cage.

"Wait up! I need to tell you all of the—guard posts," I finished as we ran into a young man eating pie while sitting on a stool.

"Uh?" He looked up from his pie, and I saw his face was coated in jelly or jam. "Ah! ESCA—"

I used my little mind trick on him as I had everyone else. He fell on his face in the strawberry pie, and I couldn't help but feel bad for destroying the delicious-looking food…

"Come on!" Hashimoto unexpectedly grabbed my arm, and pretty much dragged me the rest of the way to the exit down the stairs and through the rest of the corridors. We rushed, surprisingly, out of the front entrance of the prison totally unnoticed. Or at least, unnoticed by everyone but Edward.

"There you are! What the hell took you so damn long? I was worried!"

'Edward? Worried? For me?'

"Uh-uh… sorry…" I muttered, turning my usual red as I smiled a little.

"Jeez, don't do that to me. Next time I'm going with you."

"O-okay." My grin grew bigger, I'm sure.

"Yes, yes, happy reunions, whatever, just tell me what I need to do."

"Not here," Edward said, pulling my totally oblivious self, wrapped in hearts, toward the forest. "In there." He pointed to the trees.

"Um… okay…" Hashimoto shrugged. "Lead the way," he said.

Ed yanked me all the way back to the point A where I had entered the forest with my bleeding stomach. He had no trouble at all finding the blood trail, or the Kalki mansion that it led to.


	23. The Girl

Chapter 23: The Girl

All Al had to do was simply bash the window closest and covered in boards, and he got in. He entered the old building that had been at the end of the blood trail cautiously, but no matter how hard he tried he could not be completely silent. When he stepped over the stump where the window used to connect to the wall his large feet knocked some of the remaining nails, glass, and wood to the ground far below him. All of Al's weight was put on the wood boards across the far rafters against the walls, being the only thing holding him up. The building wasn't that big, but since it rested on a slope the second floor was actually level with the ground Al had just stepped off when he entered in through the broken window. The real main entrance was over ten feet under him on the main floor.

The floor boards squeaked and groaned under him, but they did not give in. Al looked around the area, but saw all was grey and yellow. Dull, dull greys. Much like Menouthis had been, but here, it was stranger. Outside Al knew there were people, sunshine, and happiness just outside the walls, as for Menouthis there hadn't been any other life for miles. It had always been cloudy and depressing there… Al wondered what had become of the city after the three of them had left it, but that was a long time ago now.

The boards outlined all the way around the walls of the whole foyer and lead over to the second level's floor that was even with the hill outside, but there were no stairs leading up or down to the main floor from there. Al saw in the dull yellow light to his left on the second level there were old dusty chairs, desks, and lamps of all sizes smashed, or laying in pieces. From the ceiling came a pulling chain with small trays on it for carrying objects that went all the way through the main floor and into a hole that must lead to the basement.

'This place must have been a furniture manufacturer,' Al thought to himself, and saw that the only stairs there were the ones to the basement, which had a barrier of darkness covering it. Many splinters were scattered all over the ground of the foyer along with some dark liquid. Not even the rays of the late sun could light up the area any more than it was; it was all dull and discolored no matter what way you put it.

Al sighed, and walked over to the main section of the second floor among the many pieces of wooden furniture, trying to find a way down. He thought about sliding down the pulling chain, but with his rough hands and heavy metal body he didn't know how that would work out.

Finally, Al just decided to leave, but stopped when he heard that familiar slithering noise.

'What's…?'

Al realized he knew that sound, and quickly dived behind the desk farthest away from the edge of the rafters with a horrible loud crash, but too late now.

A dark shadow exploded out of the black wall above the stairs to the basement killing the remaining light there had been in the whole building. Many moving eyes, hands, and smiles positioned themselves on the concrete floor of the main level, but something made them look bigger than before.

"Let's not stay for long this time," the creature hissed. It spread itself out a little to relax and Al feared its large silhouette might even creep to the ceiling, but it stopped halfway up the walls. Then Al noticed the center of it was a lot… _rounder_ than before as well. Had its belly gotten fatter or something?

A few men in silky brown coats and hoods followed up behind Ebla, heads bowed.

"Yes, master. We are thankful to have your guidance," one of the men praised. Ebla scoffed.

"We must keep a low profile to ensure the Fullmetal kid and his side-kicks do not seek us out, but I still need more energy… I must consume more in order to become stronger, but I'm afraid I do still need you for some things." The creature shifted and small black hands reached high up the wall. Al felt as though his blood seal were dripping with sweat. Suddenly the black figure snapped its long teeth with hunger.

"You two, hurry up and get me more humans, or I shall have to feed on more of _you_." When the men hesitated from fear Ebla barked, "Snap to it! Before we are all found. Go!"

Two of the three men who had come onto the foyer with Ebla ran back down the stairs with a last bow of their heads, and disappeared into the darkness. The last man stayed.

"When are you going to dispose of them?" he asked quietly. Ebla's small hands swayed with delight, and Al saw the man standing on the floor black with Ebla's shadow give them a gauche glance.

"I'll see when it is fit to get rid of them when the time comes," Ebla catcalled.

"And the girl?" the man continued with curiosity.

Ebla's manner became hard; the many pairs of gleaming teeth closed to tiny slits in dismay. "…That is none of your concern. Be on your way, soldier."

The man looked chocked, as though he'd made a huge mistake in asking that question and left the shadow's dark outline immediately with a bow like the others. Ebla's flaming pink eyes rolled around measly on the ground, then all of his teeth showed as he smiled.

"I guess we're alone." He sneered as he uncoiled his core. At first Al thought he knew he was there, until the shadows of his belly whisked away. What the core revealed was—

Alphonse gasped in horror.

Ebla's hands crept further up the walls at hearing Al's clinking, but he was saved. The girl in his clutches coughed out blood in her already damp hand, but held it back to her wound as soon as she'd caught it and Ebla forgot about the sound.

"Good thing you didn't get your vile shit on me again," Ebla said without anxiety or pity for the girl wrapped in bloody black coats and sweaters. Red stained her whole right side with blood. "I can't have you contaminating me again. It's disgusting."

"I'm sorry," she whimpered. Her legs were crossed, but her whole body was tense, and her face in many painful poses. She said nothing more.

Ebla sighed. "Too bad I still need you too. You're the only one who knows about that Nayru girl, otherwise I'd have you killed right here on the spot." She still said nothing, but looked took her hand away from her side. She stared longingly into the red that dyed her palm, but only ended up clenching it in a fist and turning her head away at long end.

'What is it she's thinking about?' Al wondered. 'What troubles does she have to worry about?'

Her eyes, even when filled of pain were beautiful; not a touch of cloudiness in that vibrant blue… Must her serene figure be so abused? What could she have possibly done to make Ebla want to destroy her? Even he must have a heart—somewhere…

"Stop thinking your life is so bad," Ebla told her in a sharp tone. "There are people who have lost more than you. The Fullmetal Alchemist, I know, lost both his arm, _and_ leg. For whatever reason I cannot say, but you should be grateful. I could've taken more."

The girl still did not say a word. Ebla's tiny hands drew back and slithered to the girl's sorry shape. They slid their grasp under her crossed legs and lifted her a couple feet off the ground. At that moment one of the men who left earlier reentered from the stairs.

"Take her down to the basement," Ebla commanded, shoving her in the man's face. "And make sure to lock her up somewhere she won't be able to… _whine_ where we can hear her."

The man took the injured girl with panicked eyes worried he'd drop her on the stone floor, but with much effort he managed to keep her up and did as he was told. Once he left Ebla sighed a little and relaxed his long black arms on the walls again. Al didn't move. After a while longer, all of the pink eyes looked inquisitively to the bolted shut door that was the front entrance, and Ebla slowly moved away from the walls and floor to slither under the crack where the most light spilled through. Alphonse waited one more moment where the man who had carried the girl returned to see if his master wished for anything more, but seeing he was gone closed the cellar door to the basement, and Al was left alone.

Alphonse jumped up from his hiding place the second the cellar door slammed into the concrete. He needed to tell Nayru and Brother. Al tripped on the wall as he stumbled out of the window he'd come in, but stood right back up again and started jogging toward the direction of where _Nayru's_ blood trail had started. He found the beginning once again with no trouble, but this time was sure to keep to the right trail. At least now Al knew why the blood had been thicker and still a women's, but no matter how Al tried to put it to himself in his head he couldn't help but continue to be baffled as he ran through the forest.

Who was that shadowed girl?

* * *

><p>"This is where it is," Edward said, pointing into the pit where the cave leading to the diamond and obsidian lay. "We just need you to make a way in the wall of diamond and obsidian for us. Then you can go do whatever you want, got it?"<p>

Hashimoto considered with a hand to his chin as though it were a hard decision.

"I guess I could," he said.

"You guess?" Ed asked with his eyebrows raised. He closed his eyes in a fashionable manner. "Look, we only have so much time before they realize you're gone and come to find us, so I'd hurry up and decide if I were you. Not to mention that if you don't help us we'll just give you back to the—"

"Yes, I get it, State Alchemist," Hashimoto said with irritation. "I was just joking around with you." He looked down the hole. "Let's go."

Ed gave me a nod, and I clapped my hands to the ground to lift my platform of ice once again. The water bubbled under it, and we stepped on the domed top. I didn't lose control this time. We reached the bottom with no problems, except that none of us brought any source of light, and the torch we'd brought yesterday was long since burned out.

"I can't see a thing," Hashimoto grumbled. "Do any of you have a light?"

"Here let me see," I doddered around, feeling around for the old torch. "Here it is!" I swung the heavy wooden club around. I accidentally whacked someone in the head and heard them fall to the ground as they cried out in pain. "Oops…" I stepped back to run into the other; it was Hashimoto.

"Oh, did you knock the poor midget out?" he asked bemused, but I could barely see the wrinkles above his eyes showed he was trying not to laugh. I spun around and backed up a little to step on something hard that creaked as I did. I raised my foot off of Ed's right arm and felt a hand take the torch from me. "Thank you." A spark flickered, and then a flame blinded me as it fumed, though Hashimoto was already examining the wall we wanted him to. He pressed his hands gently to it, and after a moment beckoned me to him so I could hold the torch for him—as I always did for everyone, even at home.

"The wall of diamond and obsidian here isn't that thick or big, actually. It only stretches about twenty feet in that direction." He pointed to the wall then looked over to me. "And you say there's a whole organization hiding in here?" he inquired. I blinked.

"Is there really only twenty feet of empty space past here?" I asked.

"From what I can tell, yeah."

"…But that doesn't make any sense!"

Hashimoto sighed.

"Well, sorry, I'm not the one who made the tunnel."

I gave the ground a cross look, then back up at Hashimoto. "So can you get through it?"

He gave the wall a hard stare with his hands against it. Finally he took them away.

"Yeah, I can get through it."

I stepped back. "Alright, then. I'm ready when you are."

He clapped his hands that had tattoos of dark red transmutation circles together, and a way was made right through to the other tunnel. Someone in a dark colored coat leaped out of the darkness as soon as Hashimoto stepped out of the way, and bolted at me. It seized me around the head and twisted one arm around to my back. I choked and sputtered as he gripped tighter, but I could not get out of the person's hold.

"Stay back or I kill the girl!" It was a voice I knew.

"Just—"

Something cold was pressed to my neck.

"I mean it!"

The person dragged me closer to the entrance of the cave. He suddenly halted. I felt his head turn.

"What the—? What's the Fullmetal runt doing here?" He turned back to Hashimoto. "Did you do something to him? I haven't seen _you_ before."

Hashimoto shuffled slightly forward.

"No, I didn't do anything to him. Just calm down. We aren't here to harm you."

"Oh yeah?" the man hoisted me over Edward's unconscious body and farther back. "You here to take me in instead?" he asked.

"No," Hashimoto ushered him to loosen his grip but he didn't get the hint. "I just came out of the jail house myself, now put the girl down."

The man stepped further backward.

"Why should I? She's what the master wants, anyways. Maybe I'd get rewarded if I brought her to him. That is, as soon as I find them again."

Hashimoto shook his head.

"I was hoping I wouldn't have to resort to this." His face grew serious as he clapped his hands to the ground. I had to shut my eyes from the green light, and when I could see again there were four metal soldiers in battle stances, ready to fight.

All at once they lunged for the man as they had at me in the sewer so long ago. He ducked to get out of the way as I had, but it was hopeless. Finally he had to let go of me in order to escape their continuing swings and attacks, but even then it wasn't enough, and he was pinned to the wall by two of them.

I rose from the ground, catching my breath, to see I definitely knew the man.

"Don?" I asked in astonishment. He struggled around against the solders' hold around his arms, but didn't get anywhere.

"You know this man?" Hashimoto asked, approaching the man, getting face to face as though he were a scientist's specimen, but only got dark grimaces in return.

"Yes, he was one of the ones who brought me here before."

"You were here before?" Hashimoto looked back at me, but then kept watch on his captive.

"Yeah… it's kind of a long story, though."

Don squirmed to get a better angle to look at me.

"Where's the rest? Where's Master Kalki? I need to return to his side!"

I blinked, but not in annoyance.

"Master Kalki is dead. He was killed and eaten by Ebla."

Don's expression turned to disbelief.

"You lie! Master Kalki would never—"

"Look," I said, matter-of-factly. "You don't have to believe me, but that's what happened."

Don looked away.

"Little bit—"

"What should I do with him?" Hashimoto asked. I sighed.

"I don't really care. It doesn't sound like he knows any more than we do, so he's useless."

I walked back to Edward who still lay on the ground. I wished I hadn't clubbed him in the head.

"Wait! Please, you must tell me everything you know!"

I looked back around.

"I already have," I stated plainly.

"No," Don said with a soft touch in his voice. "I mean, do you know what happened to… the girl who brought you here?" he asked. I stared at him, and saw him with the worry in his eyes.

"Sh… Shadow?" I asked, knowing that wasn't her real name.

He smiled.

"Even you call her that too?" he asked. "Everyone calls her the same thing… but it fits her… Where is she?"

I didn't want to be the one to tell him. There was something that told me they hadn't been just good friends.

"I'm sorry, she…"

Don's eyes immediately grew whiter in fear.

"What happened? Is she alright? Tell me!"

"She… was also killed by Ebla."

Don's whole body slackened when he heard this, even as his arms were dug into deeper by the metal soldiers, he didn't seem to care. His legs gave under him, and his eyes grew resentful.

"Let him down," I told Hashimoto. He hesitated, but took his hand off the metal soldiers' shoulder. They fell limp and lifeless on the ground, and Don was dropped beside them on his knees.

"No… she can't be…"

Tears fell next to the rubble of stone soldiers, but there was nothing I could do to comfort him. Hashimoto stepped away awkwardly, and gave Ed and me a sideways glance as his heels backed into Ed's arm.

"Well, looks like I'm the only one without a mate here."

I looked up at him. "What?"

Hashimoto grinned a little, but turned away. "Oh, nothing."

I exhaled. I'd heard him.

* * *

><p>"We can't stay here much longer," Hashimoto said after a long time of our silence and Don's weeping. "The military will come here and find all of us. We have to go. We can grieve for your love later."<p>

Don looked up, remnants of water in his eyes.

"She wasn't my love…" he said quietly. "I never got to tell her…" He wiped his face, and stood up. Hashimoto picked up Ed as though he were a sack of feathers, and walked over to lay a hand on Don's shoulder. I came behind them. I clapped my hands and boosted the three men and myself up to the surface. I knew how Don felt. I knew the pain, the sorrow, and the thought of knowing you could never be with the one you wanted most. I knew how it felt. But at the same time, I knew I didn't know how he felt. I didn't know what it was like to know you would never see them again, and never ever be able to be with them in the same room even. But I knew the pain he felt; I knew that all too well.

And this I've learned: no matter how hard you try, you can never make someone love you; you can never make that pain go away. As long as you know they don't love you, you will never be able to think or focus on anything else. That pain will never, ever disappear…


	24. Consonance

Chapter 24: Consonance

Alphonse could not run back fast enough; there was no way. He arrived at the Kalki mansion, yes, but… no one was inside. The pit in the dungeon looked as though Ed and Nayru had gotten through the wall of non-transmutable materials, but they were not there, and neither was anyone else. There was only a hall of sparkles in the hollowness of the tunnel. They'd already left, to where, who knew, but Al needed to find them, he needed to know what had happened here. And he needed to tell them what he knew, and they him.

He ran into the far hours of the night back to East City and back to the military hotel for a brief moment until he saw the guards had multiplied, but they weren't there. He ran into random shops, conference rooms, and even back to the alley where he had found Edward in a pool of his own blood with a curve-blade knife in his side, but they still were nowhere in sight.

Where could they possibly be? The thought came to him.

* * *

><p>"Take this," Don said who was crouching low by me and Edward in the forest. The sun glinted off of something in his hands.<p>

"A knife?" Edward asked cynically, but took its hilt with care. I observed it, and saw it was curved on the dark silver blade. Many blue jewels were engraved it, and it was made entirely of silver and platinum.

"Shadow's knife?" I looked from the blade in Ed's hands and up at him. "Where'd you find it?"

Don's face went unfeeling as he stared at the trees behind the watching Hashimoto. "I found it in the blood on the stairs going down to the dungeon when I came back. I took it down in the cave with me, thinking she'd just lost it, not…" He disappeared from this world for a second, but then returned. "Be careful with it," was all he told Edward.

He nodded slowly. "I will."

Hashimoto interrupted the moment.

"Sh! Get down, someone's coming."

We did as we were told, Edward with a resentful look on his face, but still did so. I saw his scowl spread into an excited pose at the familiar stepping sounds.

"Wait! That's my brother!" Edward immediately jumped up and yelled, "AL!" as he hurried over to him. His loud voice hurt my ears, when he screamed so _suddenly_ like that, but I didn't say anything. The silver blade was being clasped roughly by Ed's metal hand as he ran to his brother, and seeing the silver dagger being so harshly handled Don raised his hands worried Ed might destroy Shadow's knife, but said nothing to stop him.

"Brother!" Al cried with exasperation at seeing Ed. "There you are! I can't believe I finally…" he didn't finish his sentence. "Who…?" Then he recognized one of the men. "What's _he_ doing here?" Al's voice cracked. He moved quickly to point a trembling metal finger at Hashimoto. Edward whirled back at him.

"Oh, Hashimoto? We needed him to move the wall of diamond and obsidian, so Nayru broke him out of jail," he said with a sigh, like it was no big deal. Ed banged the sliver blade on his chest.

Al stared past Ed, Hashimoto, and even Don to look at me.

"Nayru broke him out of jail?"

"Yeah, surprisingly."

I ignored his rude comment and pretended to be watching the love-sick couple with their hands linked taking a stroll on the other side of the building. They stared at each other with suck affection, and never lost contact… how I wished that could be me.

Al shook his head. "So how did you get here, brother?"

"When we were walking through the woods back to East City Hashimoto accidentally followed another trail of someone else's blood under the soil since Nayru's has pretty much disappeared, and we ended up here. Then Don here," Edward turned back to look at the other light blondie next to me and gestured with the knife. "Said he was pretty sure that this is where all of the other Kalki members are."

Alphonse also looked to Don. "How did you know?" Don shrunk a little at him asking this.

"I know the way of the Kalki; this is where they'd hide. I also knew at once when we started heading on the path of the other trail of blood. It was always the route we'd take when we were training—the other Kalki members and I. It was also—" He stopped himself from saying something he didn't want anyone else to know for some reason. "The point is, they are in there, and I'm sure Ebla is too. We could just go in and end this once and for all if we do it right."

"But five of us against however many of them and Ebla?" Al asked incredulously. "There's just no way!"

Edward was about to say something but Don spoke first.

"Oh well, I don't care. We can take them out. And what have we got to lose?"

"Our lives! That's what! Don't you care about that?"

Don lowered his head, and I saw a sort of grimace on his busty face as he said, "What do you think? I have no family to return to. There's nothing I have to live for anymore."

No one could answer to that. Ed jerked his head up again, and was as always, the one to make everyone move.

"So are we going? I don't know about anyone else, but even if we are outnumbered I'd just like to see if Ebla and the Kalki members really are in there. For all we know Don could be wrong."

Hashimoto bobbed his head slowly in agreement. "He's right, we should get going." He gave an inquiring glance over to Al and I. "Are you two coming?" Al looked at me sideways, and for a second I wondered why, but then I thought about it myself. I wasn't that great of a fighter, and we could be up against Ebla and all of his goons. Sure I'd done pretty well in the past considering I'd had no training in combat my whole life, but besides the police station I'd never charged in there knowing what I was doing, and the police station had to have been a joke.

"I… I don't know…" I looked to Ed for an answer but he was holding the handle of Shadow's blade as though he were trying to pick out one of the small blue sapphires with his metal hand. "Maybe I should… stay?" I asked quietly. Ed looked up from his picking.

"Why would you suggest that?" he asked.

I closed my eyes. 'What a jerk.'

"Because, I never was that good at fighting, and we could be facing a lot of people in there. I've never really had victory in any of my battles—if you haven't noticed—so I think I might just get in the way rather than help." I paused before adding, "And besides, what good would a water Alchemist do in a fight? I can only transmute water and walls—nothing useful."

I saw Edward peek over to Hashimoto and Al when I was finished.

"I suppose you are right," Hashimoto said after stroking his chin for the longest time. "You might just get in the way, and I think we should have someone keeping watch for us while we are in—"

"This way! We are close."

All of us nearly fainted at the military's ground where they stood—they were only thirty feet away. Hashimoto frantically indicated into the old building's broken side window Al had smashed earlier with huge movements of his arms. All of us moved at once. That was a mistake.

"There!" The five men moved closer, the dog they brought barking madly as they let it pull on his leash to lead them to us. "I heard something move."

Edward made no hesitation to be the first one inside the building, and shoving right after him was Don and Al, but I halted when it was my turn.

"What are you doing?" Hashimoto hissed angrily, spitting in my face.

"We decided that I was staying," I reminded him. "I'll stay here so you can get in without them seeing you. I'll be fine," I said quickly, seeing as the soldiers blue military uniforms becoming more visible through the underbrush as they crunched on the leaves. Hashimoto saw he didn't have much time to think.

"Alright." He slid one leg carefully over the hump in the broken window making sure not to cut himself on any remaining glass. Then, after he got the other over as well, he pointed one finger at me. "You'd better be fine. Otherwise you're going to have me to answer in the afterlife, missy."

I laughed a little coldly.

"Sorry, I don't believe in the afterlife. Only reincarnation of our last life's energy." Hashimoto smiled.

"You are one strange girl. But I like you." Though he didn't himself, his whole face seemed to wink at me as it disappeared behind the wall. I turned to run back into East City the second they saw me.

"You, stop right there!" one yelled. I didn't even look back as I began to fake-run as far away from the building where everyone else lay hidden. Seeing they were now much closer I started to sprint at my pace as I passed the fourth building down the road from the one everyone was. To my delight, they were all following so I knew none of them were still at the old building everyone had entered. When I turned back around I saw they were a lot closer, but when I fell face first on the ground I wondered how the man behind me could run so far in such a short time, but he _was_ much older than me. My hands broke my fall and I scraped the palms, but at least I hadn't lost my glasses—this time.

"Gotcha!" he exclaimed with pride as I tried to kick him in the face, but he locked my legs to the ground so I could barely move them. I hadn't thought they'd be able to pursue me so fast, and I hadn't planned it out if I hadn't've been able to outrun them and get back to East HQ to ask Roy for help though I'm sure even he wouldn't've been able to help me anyways.

Without much struggle two of the other soldiers lifted me up by the shoulders and I could do nothing to get out of their grasp.

"Who is she?" the youngest of the group asked, pulling the dog's leash in his hands back. One of the men looked at me. "What is your name?"

"Nayru," I answered, knowing there was no way I'd be able to get out.

"What are you doing way out here?" the man continued; I didn't answer that. What was I supposed to say? 'I'm helping the Fullmetal Alchemist do the exact thing you didn't want him to?' But did they really not know who I was?

"I'm sure if you brought me back to East Headquarters Major General Hakuro or Colonel Mustang would know who I was," I jeered a little more maliciously than I meant it to be. The man's knuckles whitened as he clutched my navy blue Aéropostale sweatshirt—that I still had with me from when I was first sucked into Amestris.

"Take her to headquarters," he told the other men as he threw me into their hands. "I'll check the area to see if she has any misfit friends wandering around here with her."

I was happy with myself; they wouldn't be able to find Edward and the others. They were probably already in the basement of the building now, fighting Ebla and maybe even the last of the dreaded Kalki members as I was dragged away. If the Kalki members weren't in there as Don had suspected though, I did wonder what would happen if they were found. What would the military do after they'd specifically told Edward not to interfere in 'affairs that don't concern him'? Or more importantly, what would the military do with me once they found out I was his assistant?

* * *

><p>"You left Nayru out there to fend for herself?" Edward screamed as soon as he and the others had reached the bottom of the stairs to the basement. Even though the enemy could be lurking just behind the darkness Edward still made a ruckus. Only then had he noticed she was gone. Hashimoto sighed.<p>

"Yes, she's the one who wanted to stay outside as a distraction to call them off. It wasn't _my_ idea. You shouldn't be mad at me."

"But you're the one who let her! Goddammit, am I the only one who has any common sense around here? After the military ordered me not to press any further into this case when they find out she's my assistant who knows what they'll do!"

"It doesn't matter now, brother. It's too late, she's already gone," Al cut in. Edward let out a roar, but before he could say anything Al snapped, "Now be quiet, or they'll find us!"

As if waiting for warriors to pop out right on cue, everyone stopped moving and talking all at once. They barely even breathed. After long waiting, Hashimoto asked, "Well, where are they?"

Don let out a breath. "Beats me."

"For all we know they could be hiding just in the shadows where we can't see them—"

"We can't see them _anywhere!_" Alphonse interrupted, but Ed kept talking.

"—so let's get some light."

"Agreed," Hashimoto said. Though perplexed he was the one to answer him, Edward clapped his hands together and then to the ground before he thought about it for long.

"Damn, I forgot the ground wasn't made of wood," Ed blew a raspberry.

"Wait; I saw a wooden chair over here from the transmutation light." Don's voice was distant. Everyone turned to face his direction.

"Okay…? I can't see a thing…"

There was the hollow sound of something knocking on metal.

"Over here, Ed."

He felt over to his brother's voice and clapped again when he'd run into him. Hashimoto lit each of the four torches Edward had transmuted with his fire alchemy, and handed one to each. Now everyone saw there was nothing but a large cavern under the furniture manufacturer. More splintered wood pieces were here, but barely any considering the size of the area. It was probably about as long and wide as the whole street. Passages about thirty feet apart from each other were stretched across the both of the sides of the cave, and a few massive pillars wider than five tree trunks mushed together held everything up from the middle.

"I think we should split up," Hashimoto said. "Half of us should go through the passage at that end,"—he pointed with his finger—"and the other half should go into the other door at that end." He turned around to the other door.

"What about all of those other doorways?" Don asked, looking around at the ten or so passages on the broad walls of the cavern.

"Those obviously all lead to the buildings above us. There's no need to check if you think about our position," Hashimoto said rationally. Then he turned back to the rest of the group. "I'll go with Don. Edward, you can go with your brother."

Edward growled, "Good."

"I'm doing it for your own enrichment. Unless you'd _rather_ go with me or Don."

"No," Edward answered swiftly.

"I didn't think so. Stop being negative." Hashimoto moved a little closer to his door. "Well, see you two later, I hope." He waved at the brothers.

"Yeah, me too."

"Be careful with that knife I gave you," Don repeated. "Please."

"I know, I know," Edward guaranteed, looking away and starting to walk.

Don smiled unsurely. "See you later," he said. And the next time Edward looked behind him and his brother, they were gone…

* * *

><p>The narrow hallway Al and I entered probably in reality wasn't that long, but it sure seemed like it. I couldn't help but thinking something was going to come out of nowhere to confront us the whole time, but instead after all of our long minutes of walking all that appeared before us was a fork.<p>

There was always a fork. There always had to be a fork to split us up. But, we couldn't leave one area unchecked, and for all we knew the paths led to the same place.

I sighed.

"Well, looks like we have to part as always, Al."

Alphonse's metal head creaked my way. "I guess you're right." We set ourselves to keep walking on our path. "See you around, brother."

"You too, Al."

At least the two of us had our own torch so we wouldn't be left in the dark.

* * *

><p>'Where does this lead to?' Al asked himself when he was far out of his brother's view. It didn't take long until Al came to a room…<p>

A girl lay in her own blood and chains on the stone floor. She didn't even look alive. Her eyes were closed, or the shadows his flame cast were angled just right on her bent head just like someone else he'd known. Dark circles under her eyes made the scene look even more familiar, and harder to see if she was awake too.

Blood was scraped all over the wall supporting her back, and it looked like the sweaters and sweatshirts compressing her wound didn't do the job they were meant to. They were black from all of the red, and even though she lay there, still and lifeless, Al could feel something from her he had felt from that other person he knew not too long ago as well—blame.

Alphonse bent down to her the same way he had to that other person, and as soon as he did she winced and cringed all too same. Al was about to ask his own question, his _same_ question, "Why?" but she was the one to say something first.

"Sorry there's nothing more for me to tell you than this…"

Having no idea why she said this, Al moved to her chains, but she put a hand on his to stop him.

"No… you can't." She swallowed.

"Why…?" Alphonse probed every possible explanation "why", but found nothing that could answer him. Al was pretty sure this was the women Nayru had informed him and Ed about. She matched the same elegant and beautiful description perfectly, even in her agony.

She did not answer, but Al had to push it this time. This time, he had to know "why", before it was too late. "Why do you wish to stay here where Ebla can harm you further? What more is he to you than your reason to be mournful and bleeding to your death? What more is he doing for you?"

"I stay because—because—" She took a breath and her garish blue eyes gazed slowly over to the blood-covered wall. She did not look Al in the eye when she said, "He's my father…"


	25. Shadows' Tales

Chapter 25: Shadows' Tales

"There's nothing here…" Edward told himself, shaking his head. "There's never anything here, or at least not until I'm off-guard." With his own statement he looked behind him, but saw there was still nothing, only the stone walls. He quickened his strides, when he realized he'd already passed the fork in the path he and Al had taken earlier, and stopped to stare down the long cavern for no reason at all. Don and Hashimoto weren't back yet, and neither was Al. The torch did barely anything against the large darkness inside the cave; this made it impossible to see much. Edward turned back into the long hall, and this time took the opposite path when he got to the fork.

At the end there was a dank room with old, worn chains still damp with blood hanging on the walls, and a few empty boxes on the right wall. There was straw around the torch on the ground. Some of the individual stubbles were smoking they were set so close. Al lay bent over the far wall, though it was only seven feet away.

"Al, there you are, I was wondering…"

There were legs connected to a figure covered in black water under his brother.

"Who is that?" Edward was about to scream, but soon saw he knew the girl. She was the one who had died on the stairs in the Kalki mansion…

SHE WAS THE ONE WHO HAD DIED ON THE STAIRS IN THE KALKI MANSION.

"WHA—? YOU?" Edward didn't know how this girl could have survived such a thing. "HOW ARE YOU STILL ALIVE? I THOUGHT YOU WERE CHOMPED IN HALF BY THAT FREAKY EBLA GUY!"

Shadow closed her eyes. Edward saw there was discomfort in them. Then Al retracted to reveal the rest of the girl.

"So… so that's how you…"

Shadow nodded.

"Well come on, let's get you out of here."

"No." Edward stopped in mid-clap.

"What?"

"No, I can't. I…" She hid her face further than it already was.

Edward looked over to Al. "What does she mean?" Al didn't say anything, for he did not really know himself.

"I'll tell you," Shadow said. "But you must promise not to speak to anyone of this. Not anyone."

"Can we tell Don you're alive?" surprisingly, Edward asked.

Shadow closed her eyes again. "Of course. Tell him what you wish." She waited for another while before starting. "It was all because of the Hajudido war with Xing…"

* * *

><p>The Hajudido tribe was probably, at its peak, the biggest, strongest, and most powerful clan than any other Xing has ever had. It was so advanced that after consulting with all of their wisest rulers and superiors they decided it was time to break off from the rest of Xing and become their own country. They posed this request to the emperor himself at the palace, but when he merely waved them off, saying it was for their own safety, they were enraged to say the least. Though, they weren't stupid. They knew the emperor wanted nothing of them but all of their men. Hajudian warriors were the stealthiest and best trained. Not to mention there were the most of them than any other clan too. Now this was all fair, but they knew exactly what their forces would lead Xing to—ruin.<p>

Finally they knew it was time to enforce what they believed would help the known world move and grow, so they had to get to the emperor in a position where he'd pay attention to them so they would say what they had to say. Over the years they started getting their militants into the supreme line of the soldiers by the emperor's side. When all of them were lined up to strike, they did, but not violently. They only cornered the emperor and continued to plea to him of their wants, but when he resisted and his protectors came in, that's when civil war broke out.

The battles didn't last long, but it was the most blood-thirsty battle Xing has ever had with over 200,000 casualties within the first month. My father, being human at the time, was one of the many militants by the emperor's side before the fighting induced who had gotten there from the famous Manju clan's authority with the royal family. Manju was also one of the largest clans of the many in Xing, but nowhere near the size of the Hajudido or Yao clan. Father was one of the few in the palace who knew what the Hajudians wanted was actually better for the well-being of Xing and the rest of the world, but all who opposed the emperor were sentenced to death, prison, or worse.

When the Hajudians finally made their move, my father knew it was time to leave Xing, and he did so without a trace. He fled out of Xing to the "free" country of Amestris. Since the news of civil war in Xing had reached the ears of Amestris, father knew he would not be allowed admission into the country; he had to be smuggled. He waited in the Xerxes ruins in the very center of the desert for many months until travelers who were willing to do the job passed through, and they took him to their home country, Aerugo. At the time Amestris and Aerugo were allies, not enemies, of course until the Ishbalan civil war, but that's later in this story. From Aerugo my father gained easy access into Amestris with no questions asked, and went to work in his new life in the South.

What my father didn't know was there was something wrong—terribly wrong—with this country, but now he could not go back to Xing. Even as the civil war ended, and Hajudido did finally get their wish to break off from Xing after all of the bloodbaths, there was no way he would be let back. He would be considered a traitor, and everyone in the emperor's head military line knew what the emperor did to traitors—depending on if they were a man or a woman.

Feeling as though he would be trapped in the doom of this country's alchemy and military way of life forever, my father thought it best just to end his life. He knew there was no way he could live like this, and even all of his family back in Xing would never be able to see him again no matter what he did. He'd even warned them of what was to come in Xing at the Hajudians requests, but they had not listened, and now he didn't even know if they were still alive after all of the bloodshed. But just as my father entered the church, he was greeted by a young woman. She asked him of his business here at the house of god that day, and he thought it best not to lie in the sanctuary, so he told her the truth.

She begged him not to end his life as he tromped up the many stairs to the bell tower, but she did not try to stop him in any other way. When he at long last asked her why she did not try to halt him, I was told she only answered, "Because it's your life; you can do what you want with it. It is not mine, or even god's to command, though he gave it to you. You could end your life, you could make the light in your eyes fade, but that doesn't mean that you'll get sympathy or anything different in the next life, if there even is one. Would you really want to do that to yourself? If not life for anyone you love or care for, why not just for yourself?" Astonished at her saying this, my father thought of her words, and found them to be true, every last one of them.

He did not end his life that day, and did much the opposite, actually. The woman he met in the church and he became great friends, close friends. She visited him at the wood shop he worked at, and never let him forget the light he'd been granted by living on this planet. Over time, as anyone would and always does, he began to love her. He loved everything she said, she was always there for him in his times of doubt, and he found living quite wonderful whenever she was near, or had given him a good scolding the night before.

One day he asked her to marry him, she said yes without fault, and they were wedded the next week.

Neither of them had much money, and Mary's—my mother's—parents lived in the northern area in the West with only enough to support themselves. It was then they had me. I remember my mother telling me I was named after her mother in my faint memories, but other than that that's all I can remember of her. I was two when taken away from her by my current father. He came home from work yelling about something; I was too young at the time to understand what he was saying. He grabbed my mother and me and ran out the front door with us, but the sirens of the military's dogs were already too close. We had no choice but to make a run for it.

Taking the back alleys and traveling only in the shadows we had to get out of the South and all of Amestris. We were nearly to the border of Aerugo when we were caught. Mother was snatched by the soldiers pursuing us on the turn to the slums, and my father, though not wanting to leave her, took me and got away just by the nick of his feet.

He wept over her for many hours afterwards, and I never saw her again.

It wasn't too long after that we reached Aerugo, but just as the Aerugians did to the Ishbalans, though they helped my father get access into Amestris before, they would not let him back through. Only this time when pinned against the gates of the border we weren't confronted by the military, something else was after us.

* * *

><p>"You!" my father spat, but at what, I could not see. "I knew I hadn't seen the last of you. What do you want with us?"<p>

A whisper came out of the darkness in the ground shadows. "Where are you going?"

"Why would you care? I'll be leaving you and your siblings to do what you came to Amestris to do. Why would you care if I left here with myself and my child?" Father's face was a grimace. I'm sure he knew there was no escape.

"Ah, how do I know you aren't going to speak of our little ordeals to anyone? You could just as well inform someone in another country of our plans. You know that."

Father backed away right to the grating before he said, "I do, but I'm a man of my word. Now please, Pride, just let me go."

There was a great pause; neither of them moved. Until finally, _finally_, the shadow creature smiled showing all of his teeth.

"I am not Pride. I do not have a real name. I broke off from the others. That's why I cannot let you get away. You will be my name. You will be my host. You will now be me, _Ebla_."

"DAD!"

His hand slipped from my grasp as many black hands pulled him away.

"DADDY! COME BACK!" I screamed for him louder than I ever have in my life.

"Quiet child, you don't know what you're dealing with." Then I heard my father's voice.

"It's alright. Don't worry about me. You'll be fine, Vorrina."

The shadow creature drew him back closer to its belly.

"No, daddy! I won't let you d—"

It was already too late. As Ebla, my new father brought me close to him with his black arms blood soaked my shoes.

"Hello there, beautiful." Ebla grinned at me. "You'll be coming with me. Now that I have a host you'll come to good use. I know some people at Kalki who could _use_ you…"

* * *

><p>I never took the plain fact that my father was gone, I couldn't. I still believed—still <em>believe<em>—he's alive somewhere inside that monster who is now my father. Along with my mother, who must still be somewhere in prison…

After I was taken to the Kalki mansion by Ebla I was trained none-stop to become a warrior like the rest of them. They always taught us we were looking for something. "Something beyond this world," they always said. I had nowhere else to go, so I stayed there to let them teach me. I wasn't that good with the sword or the dagger, so Don was appointed my advisor. Though he was really harsh, he was also a good teacher. I learned everything I know about combat now from him. But I as time passed, I also passed his skill, and was therefore sent to find whatever I could that was 'different' out in the real world.

The rest, I'm sure you know.

* * *

><p>"…You honestly think your father is still alive in that… thing?" Edward asked as soon as her part was done. Shadow, or more, <em>Vorrina<em> sighed.

"Yes. I'm sorry, and I know it's foolish, but I do. I still believe there's some part of him inside that monster."

"You shouldn't be apologizing to me. You should be apologizing to yourself." Edward turned around. Alphonse could tell from his posture he was in deep thought. He turned back with a look that said he knew whatever he said would not make Vorrina change her mind.

"People don't come back from the dead. If you saw them die yourself, you should know better than anyone he isn't coming back."

Vorrina closed her eyes again and wheezed a breath in with her hand still on what was left of her right shoulder.

"If I believe that do you think I'd still be here in these chains because my father wanted me to be?"

Edward nodded as though agreeing with her and his own earlier thoughts.

"I guess you have a point there. A normal person would know that he was dead."

"Brother, don't forget we weren't much different at one time in our life. We thought—"

"I know what we thought! I do, Al. You don't need to remind me."

Ed sighed. He didn't know what to do now. They'd found Shadow—or Vorrina—or whoever she was—and she didn't want to go with them… What would Don do when they told him she was still alive? Would he come to get her? Or would he respect her wish to be with her so-called father? Ed spun around again.

"Come on, Al. If she doesn't want to be saved that isn't our problem. We've got to find this Ebla and destroy him before he can cause any more harm to anyone else."

"NO!" Vorrina lurched forward as far as her chains would allow, splattering blood on some of the straw on the ground.

"Look, he isn't your father. You need to grow up and realize that. It was one thing when we were little kids, but you're—"

"What do you mean it was one thing when you were little kids?" Vorrina asked slowly.

"Not now," Edward responded. "Let's go, Al." He bound out of the small dungeon cell room before anyone else could say anymore. He did not want to be reminded of that time. Not now.


	26. Concordat

Chapter 26: Concordat

Al left his torch behind for Vorrina to have, and he hurried up to Ed from the small cell room.

"Ed! Where are you going? We can't just leave her there, can we?"

"She said she wanted to be left there. There's nothing I can do against a person who _wants_ to stay behind." Edward did not look at his brother as he walked back down the narrow hall to the large cavern.

"What are we going to do now? We aren't going to kill Vorrina's last hope of family, are we?"

"That isn't a last hope for family," Edward whispered. "That's a last hope for insanity."

"But brother, we weren't so different ourselves—"

"Stop, Al. I know we weren't, but that was a long time ago. And I'm trying to fix it as soon as possible, aren't I?"

Al said nothing.

Ed turned away. "Now let's go find Don and Hashimoto and get out of here. I'm pretty sure the rest of those freaks aren't here at the moment otherwise we'd already've been confronted."

Al wanted to stop his brother and reply back to his retort, but he could and did not.

When they reached the long, looming cavern again, they walked slower across it to the other side where Hashimoto and Don had gone through. Just when they thought they were going to have to go and find the two, they emerged out of the dark halls unharmed, but instead tight faces.

"What happened to you two?" Edward asked.

Don frowned at him. "I could ask you the same thing." Edward then wondered if his expression was tight as well from everything Vorrina had said and reminded him of. Ed looked to Al trying to make his face "normal" by putting it in a bored position.

"Do I look different?" he asked.

"No," Al answered. "Just a little distressed." Ed looked startled for a second until he realized Al was just joking with him.

"Alright, alright, let's go." Edward said, turning around.

"Wait, aren't you curious as to if we found anything?" Don asked.

"No." Ed walked away. He only turned back around on his heel just as he touched the railing of the stairs leading back to wood manufacturing building.

"Well then I guess we'll tell you upstairs," Hashimoto said, nudging everyone to the steps next to Ed. "Let's not talk here."

They opened the bunker door on the floor of the first level, and it banged to the side as they stalked out, spreading the dust everywhere. It was almost night; the last red rays of the sun glimmered through the cracks surrounding the front entrance door, and no sounds were to be heard but the different rhythms of their steps.

"Looks like we're alone," Edward stated. He turned back to the rest of the crowd. "So, what did you find down there?"

"Actually," Hashimoto began. "We found the whole Kalki organization."

Edward thought he hadn't heard right. "What?" He looked between Don and Hashimoto. "I thought—why didn't you tell us? We could've taken them. We're going back down there right—"

"No!" Hashimoto said. "I'm not finished. The point is they didn't harm us when they saw us. There were two paths in our way—"

"There was for us too. Big deal," Edward interjected.

Hashimoto just gave him a glare before he kept going. "So I went down one, and Don went down the other. I found nothing but a small cell room,"—Alphonse looked to the ceiling when he was reminded of Vorrina, and tried to hold back telling Don she was still alive at that moment. "But Don said he actually came to another larger room where all of the Kalki were hiding. Here, you tell them the rest." Hashimoto pushed Don a little forward since he did not seem like he was listening—he was watching the rays of sun dancing on the walls instead.

"So I came to another large room," Don said. "But not quite as large as the one under here. And there were all of the remaining Kalki members. They all greeted me with happiness when they saw me, but after all our exchanges of 'hello' were over they told me to get out before Ebla came back and _made_ me stay here. I asked them why that would be such a bad thing, and they told me it meant I was probably on the death-role to be eaten by him. Then Hashimoto came in, so we left after they informed him of Ebla's whereabouts too."

"It took you that long to get back from just saying hello to everybody you knew?" Edward asked unbelievingly.

"Well, give or take a couple—"

"So what did you guys find? Anything?" Hashimoto interrupted.

"Yeah, well, actually we—"

"We found someone who was thought to be dead chained to the wall," Edward settled for Al. Don immediately looked livelier.

"What?"

"Yes, you heard me right, but just listen—"

"I have to go to her." Don rushed back to the open bunker. Edward grabbed for his arm and caught it.

"No, you dumbass, don't go back down. You don't know when Ebla is going to get back—"

"I don't care. I need to see her again." Don pulled backward on Ed's automail, but barely got anywhere. They were almost the same size, Don being just slightly taller.

"Please…" Don hid his face from view. "Please just let me see her. I need to know she's safe."

Edward tried not to let his manner get to him. "No way! Ebla will be back at any moment, and there's no way she's coming with you because she's crazy!"

"What do you mean?" Don asked quietly.

"I mean she thinks her so-called father would want her to stay chained to the wall while bleeding to death."

"What? She's bleeding? Hurry and take me to her." Don tugged harder, so hard Ed's shoulder started hurting.

"Ow…" Ed struggled with his grip, but soon found it better just to let him go. "Fine, go. I don't care if you're killed by Ebla, or Shadow, or whoever! Just go if that's what you think is right." He let go of Don's arm.

"No need to be mean, brother," Al said softly as Don crouched under the shadows leading down the stairs.

"I wasn't being mean. I was just stating the truth. Just like with Vorrina…"

"What about with Nayru, too?"

Ed stopped as he stared blankly into the ground. As the rest of Don's brown coat disappeared he still did not answer. The cellar door was snapped shut by Hashimoto who looked to the two brothers as if asking, "What now?" At long last Edward answered, "I don't know what you're talking about," and walked back over to the front door. A swishing noise was heard. Al gasped; Ed stopped.

"Up here." He quickly transmuted a platform up to the second level again, and Hashimoto followed. "Hurry up, Al!" Edward ordered.

"I can only draw transmutation circles as fast as I can draw them!" Al yelled back just as he lifted himself up. The three sprang out of the window, and Ebla came under the door. Edward watched the vile creature shift its eyes around the whole area—apparently missing them—and then slunk down to the basement. It looked bigger than when it had left the building.

"Okay," Edward heaved. "Now what?"

"I don't know…" Hashimoto said looking to the two of them. This was the first time he'd ever been left alone with _both _of them. It was quite strange; he didn't say anything.

"What about Don?" Al asked them. "We aren't just going to leave him down there with Vorrina, are we?" Hashimoto looked to Edward for his answer.

"Yeah, what else were we going to do? Now there're even less of us to face Ebla, and it sounded to me like both of them wanted to left alone. Maybe we should just leave them and the whole Kalki be. They don't really seem to need our help, and we were told not to get involved either."

"But brother, what are we going to tell the military when we get back to headquarters with _him?_" Al inclined over to Hashimoto. Edward looked over to him as well.

"Yeah, what are we going to do?" He paused. "I don't think they'd let you walk around East Headquarters if they knew who you were…" Then Ed remembered. "Oh yeah, we did promise you that if you helped us you could go do whatever you wanted. If you want to leave, go. We'll settle things here by ourselves." Alphonse watched for Hashimoto's answer too.

Hashimoto smiled. "Actually… there's nowhere for me to go now that all of my research in Menouthis was terminated a long time ago. And I sure don't want to go back to Aerugo without a job. Not like they would let me either. I think I'll stay with you two, unless, of course you don't want me to."

Ed raised his eyebrows. "Wow, really? Okay, I guess you're staying with us, then. We could always use another henchman." Ed grinned wickedly, and turned to look around the corner of the building.

"He's joking," Al told Hashimoto, though he wasn't too sure of that statement himself.

"There's no one coming," Ed said. "Let's go. Time to finally leave this place…"

And they tromped back on the same path through the forest they had come here to, not saying anything to each other.

* * *

><p>"How much longer am I going to have to wait?" I asked the woman going through various papers at the information desk. She looked up from the top of her glasses to scrutinize me.<p>

"I don't know," she told me in a raspy voice that told me she had been working over-time. "Major General Hakuro is a busy man, so I'm not sure when he'll have time to see you as you requested." She placed the papers she was stapling on the corner of her desk and moved to get some others. A military official with a couple stars on his blue uniform walked in from the hallway.

"Ah, hello, Lois." The man smiled heartily at the woman but she didn't see it until she had found the papers that were his and handed them to him.

"Hi, here are your reports, sir. I finished editing them as fast as I could but I already have so much." He took them without taking his eyes off her.

"That's fine. Take all the time you need."

The woman broke off their eye connection and kept organizing her papers as though he weren't there. The man didn't say anything more, but then turned to me.

"And who's this? Been a naughty girl, have you?" He eyed my cuffs with an odd sort of pleasure. "What are you doing here?" he asked, as though forgetting he ever posed his first question.

"She was brought here because she was found in 'uncanny' areas of East City where the Fullmetal Alchemist and his followers were supposed to be last seen. But she was the only one found." The man looked back at her.

"Why wasn't she just questioned?" he asked.

"Because she was seen with the Fullmetal Alchemist, who is under high supervision right now for going against orders. But the kid ran off to who-knows-where, and we haven't seen him since. If you were listening to the briefing this morning instead of looking at other women's butts you'd know that." The man made a choking noise.

"Alright, you've made your point. So who is she waiting for now?"

"Major General Hakuro."

"Wha? Him? What did she do to have an audience with a Major General?" He couldn't believe his ears—I hate it when people talked like I wasn't there, my parents did it to me all the time. But I never say much, so that's probably why…

"Apparently the Fullmetal Alchemist went against something really important." The woman shrugged. "I've never seen them act this way with anyone else. Not even when Colonel Mustang was found sleeping during the alert conference on when someone disobeys the military."

"Hm…" He looked at me again. "I'm curious as to what your little friend did, girl," he said. "What's your name, anyway?"

The woman he'd been talking to behind him stood up and snapped to a salute.

"Sir!"

Another man appeared from the hall just across the hallway the other man had come from. As soon as he saw him, the man conversing saluted as well.

"Major, sir! I was just asking this girl a few questions." He looked nervous.

"At ease, you two. No need to get all worked up over my arrival." He turned to the woman. "I was summoned here. Was it for this girl?" He asked this with his back turned; he didn't even look at me.

"Yes, sir. I'm not sure what exactly is going on, but—"

"No need for you to. Carry on with your work, I'll take her."

"Yes, sir." The two of them bowed as the Major General heaved me up by one arm, and escorted me out of the nook area. We didn't walk that far, only down the hall a little ways. There was almost no one in this wing of East HQ. The office he led me to was the last one down the hall where there was a large window, but it was not his. The sign on the door read, "Visitor's Office". Did he not work in the East? Where was he from, then?

General Hakuro sat me down in one of the three chairs in front of the visitor's desk in the cramped room. He gave me a stare, but talked before his eyes could pierce through me for long.

"To my knowledge you are the Fullmetal Alchemist's assistant, the Water Alchemist, correct?" he asked in a very business-like manner as he leaned back on his room's small black chair, hands folded.

"Yes." I knotted my hands together as well.

Hakuro picked up the clipboard on his desk. "Nayru… Elric?" he inquired. I blinked; why did it have Elric afterwards? And how did the military know my 'name' if I was from a different world? Did Mustang pick it up and tell them?

"Um, I'm not sure why you have 'Elric' down on there," I said, puzzled.

"Ah," Hakuro leaned forward again and grabbed a pen from the coffee cup placed on his desk top. "Little mistake there. What is your real last name, then?"

I knew I shouldn't have said anything. I decided to try and play it tough.

"Why do you need to know? It doesn't matter. Just tell me what you want."

"Actually it _does_ matter. The military must be informed of your whereabouts. And as far as I can see," he peaked at me over the top of the clipboard. "You don't have a birth record…" He waited. "Why not?" I shifted a little in my seat, and my eyes locked on the back of the clipboard where the Amestrian lion was branded in blue ink.

"Because you don't…" I said absently. The lion's claws began to move, and I realized what was happening.

'No. Please don't. Not now, please,' I begged myself in my head, but there was nothing I could do. The blue lion then sprang up from the intertwined diamonds holding him there, and they fell down on the back of the clipboard. As they went farther down they grew smaller, and smaller, and when they did reach the bottom, they shattered into bits of ink on the wood. The back part of the lion's body became two legs like any other lion as he leapt to the top, and almost off of the back.

It whispered something to me on the very wisps of its razor fangs. _'You need to hurry up.'_ Somehow I understood it though I knew it wasn't speaking English. The words sounded as though I'd heard or seen them somewhere before…

'I know,' I assured the lion as everything else melted away. Even General Hakuro's standing-up figure became clouded, and then completely disappeared. Now not even the clipboard was still there, only the lion.

'_Then why aren't you going now?'_ it continued.

"I said I'm trying. Now leave me alone," I said.

'_You have to go before it's too late. Before I decide not to grant you your wish.'_

"I know! I'm trying! I'm working as fast as I possibly can! Please, just give me more time!"

'_Amestris doesn't have more time…'_ the lion declared with much settlement. It swung its tail it had just materialized back and forth, but I did not take my eyes from its face. _'You have to hurry before it's too late…'_

"Stop…" I moaned. "Just stop. I can't take it anymore."

'_I'm only telling you what you need to do in order to get what I pledged. If you don't do it, you don't get it.'_

"I said I know, now please, stop."

'_You have to hurry…'_ Its voice faded, but echoed louder in my mind. _'You have to hurry…'_ it kept hissing. Over, and over, and over, none stop, no matter what I did. I covered my ears.

"I KNOW!" I screamed. Only then did I realize I had been talking aloud for quite a while. "I KNOW! STOP! JUST STOP! JUST—"

General Hakuro's hands were on my shoulders and shaking me.

"STOP! STOP! STOP!" I kept screaming.

'_You have to hurry… before it's too late…'_

"Hey, girl, pull yourself together. I was just saying—" He only just then understood I hadn't have been yelling at him.

"Just stop…" I kept saying, shaking. I lowered my head. "I know I have to hurry… or I won't get what I wish…"

I crashed. _What just happened to me?_

"W-w-wha…" I took a deep breath. The Major General gawked. He took himself aback with a look I didn't like.

"Y-you have…" He shook his head. "I have to report this." Without another word he fled out the back door, knocking over towering stacks of paper as he did, and I was left alone in the office.


	27. War's Coming

Chapter 27: War's Coming

I looked again at the clipboard; it didn't have a prancing, telepathic lion on it anymore. Only the paper containing what little information the military had about me. The pen that lay upon was dripping ink on the page, and it looked as though General Hakuro had scribbled a little on it too when I 'flipped-out'… What _had_ happened to me? I still didn't even know the answer to my own mind's question… How long until he was back? I didn't like this waiting; it was too nerve-racking.

What was it he knew about me? And, as I recalled, Ed knew about it too. He always stared at me the same way General Hakuro had whenever this happened to me. But what was it that happened to me? I had to ask someone. I had to know what was wrong with me, like I always had, even if it was just a slight hesitation when I asked someone a question, I had to know the truth. I had to know what it was someone didn't like about me, or I just didn't even feel like I could even look at that person…

My wrists were compressed closely together by silver bracelets still. I'd already been in handcuffs once, before I ever came to Amestris, actually. It wasn't that it hurt that bothered me about them, it was the fact that when you had them on, it showed you had done something wrong. Even if you were innocent, you still have to've done something to be in them. That was the reason I didn't like them: not because of the pain, but because of the things people would imagine you'd done to be in them.

I sighed and looked over to the door. I wasn't sure if it was locked, but I knew it probably wasn't a good idea to leave at a time like this. What if I just got in the way, though? Just like I had when Hashimoto kidnaped me, just like I had when I ran off by myself and Shadow stabbed me, just like I had when Don grabbed me in the Kalki dungeons, and just like I had whenever I had to bring up those painful memories for Ed and Al of that time. I knew what it was like to remember things you rather wouldn't. Whenever that would happen, I'd always get really sad, and the whole world around me would seem to turn to black and white, as though there were no color in it at all. I didn't like that feeling, and I was sure they didn't either, so _why did I have to keep bringing it up?_ Why did I have to be here? I was only causing more distress for them, and I knew that…

"Why can't I just go home?" I asked myself quietly with my head bowed toward my knees. "Why can't I just get out of Edward's way so he can go do what he was meant to?" Then I started thinking about all of my problems back at home…

'"_Home_…"' I thought. 'At least I have one…' But as I thought about it deeper, I wasn't sure if that was a completely accurate statement. 'I think…'

I felt myself dipping off into sleep. How, who knew, but I felt tired all of a sudden. Like all of the adventure was sucked out of me, and my time here was up. My head hung lower. I closed my eyes…

* * *

><p>"So, I'll just go in like this?" Hashimoto asked, looking himself over.<p>

"Yeah, we'll be fine as long as no one asks questions, and you don't do anything stupid." Edward looked over his work—Hashimoto's new outfit. "Do you like it?"

"Well, it's kinda tight around the legs, but other than that…" He shrugged a little. "I guess I don't really care, let's go."

The three of them marched right into East HQ's dorm wing as though invited, then to the rest of East Headquarters from there.

People gawked to say the least. The blond runt who was supposed to be under high supervision, the massive moving and talking—with a high voice for a man—suit of clanging armor, and the Aerugian gangster dressed all in leather and spikes except for his flaring jean bottoms, which were embroidered with flames made of fabric. They were quite a sight. Everyone was so occupied with their appearance they didn't even call the guards, or see to check who they were. They let the three strut down the halls as though they owned the place, and no one said otherwise to stop them.

Edward came to the front desk. "Where can we find Nayru?"

The woman stared at him open-mouthed for a second, but then caught herself. "Oh, right. Nayru?"

"Yes," Edward said, looking to Alphonse and Hashimoto out of the corner of his eye. He also saw many officers snickering as they passed by them while walking down the halls themselves.

"Uh… is there a last name with that? I can't find it on here otherwise…"

"Oh, just look for 'Nayru'. I'm pretty sure she's the only one in the building."

The woman withdrew back to the list of names on her roster with an aggravated look on her face.

"Nope, I don't… Ah, here she is."

Edward looked to the ceiling and stepped back.

"Nayru Elric?"

"Yeah sure, fine. No need to argue that now." Edward hit his hand lightly on the desktop with irritation.

"She's in the… asylum…" The woman scrunched her brow.

"What?" Ed didn't believe his ears. "Why would she be in the asylum? You must've got the wrong one—"

"No, that's all I have here." She looked back up and handed the clipboard to Ed. "See for yourself."

Edward snatched the list away and flipped through the pages himself. Once his face had fixed itself into an unpleasant pose he slapped the wood back down on the desk, and hurried away.

"Brother!" Al chased after him. "What is it? Is something wrong?" Ed didn't answer for a long time. Only once they were at the stairs did he nearly breathe behind him, "It's getting worse than I thought…"

Al still somehow heard him, but didn't get what he was saying. "What do you mean?"

Edward ignored him. Al turned his gaze away from the black symbol on the back of Ed's red coat to see Hashimoto wasn't there. He hadn't followed them when they left the front desk. Al was about to tell Ed about this, but then he almost bumped into him when he'd stopped at the chain-link that divided the rest of East HQ from the mental asylum.

"We need to get in." The guard on the other side of the fence-wall barely even looked at them.

"Speak your name, your business, and your supervisor, please," he said, transferring the keys of the gate between both hands as he stared blankly to the ground. The clanking sound that came from them was very annoying to Al, even though his own body made much more of a racket whenever he moved even slightly. Ed eyeballed the keys in the guard's hands with annoyance as well. He clapped his hands to the ground, making the guard flinch straight up from the wall. Edward poked a pole through the grating, and simply put the hook at the end of his new tool inside the key's catch. He pulled it back toward him as the guard stood with, jaw ajar.

"Thank you," Ed gibed, and he inserted the key into its fit on the other side of the gate. Edward swung it open and skipped through, asking the guard, "Which way can we find Nayru Elric?"

The guard pointed down the hall as he backed away to the wall again, still watching them with fear and amazement at the same time. Al tried to give him a look of, "Sorry," as he jogged through himself, but was sure there was no way he could've with the face he had, and only crept the guy out even more.

The walls were dull and lined with sparkling concrete all the way from the top to the bottom, and even on the ceiling, doors, and walls. They sprinted all the way down the short hall, and the last sign near the last door said: "Nayru Elric" in golden blue. Edward and Alphonse came to a stop in front of it.

* * *

><p>"Who are you?" I asked with an embarrassed and dull look on my face.<p>

"Who am I, you ask?" the faceless being in front of me inquired emptily; he blended so well into the black background behind him it was hard to tell which part of it was him… He gave off an aura of happily crude satisfaction as he said, "I am called by many things to you," and continued. "I am your world. I am your family. I am your God. I am the truths you know. I am the things you desire. I am all you know. I am the one you know." I stood speechless for a while. The being smiled, showing its white teeth like always. "I know what you want, what you crave, what you desire, what you wish, everything you know, everything you are, every question you think, everything you do. I am All, and I am One—"

"And I am also you," I finished for him. He frowned.

"If you know that, then why are you here?"

I swayed in the dark matter-like area. I could scarcely make out far away stars and galaxies… Maybe on one of them, I'd find home…

"I am here, because… because you sent me here."

The black creature said nothing.

"I'm here because this is all your test! You want to see if my devotion was real! You need to know I deserve what you're offering! You need to know I won't be another screw-up like all of the others! You need someone who can do the job you can't! You need someone 'Different'!"

The spherical creature hovered there another while with the same frown until it finally said, with its biggest smile, "You are close. So very close, but not there just yet."

"What does—?"

It disrupted me with a distorted voice.

"Nayru! Hey, Nayru!"

I was confused as to why the creature decided to have an outburst of repeating my name until I realized it was not the black being who was saying it.

"Hey, Nayru," this time it was the black figure who spoke to me as the ongoing outbreak of the other voice grew a little softer. It gave me a sort of earnest stare, though it had only a mouth, which was now slanted as straight. "When you're ready to go home, just tell me. But, know you can never come back if you do…"

I watched the circular outline of the black creature's body disappear into the rest of the darkness with wide eyes, and all of the stars in the background blinked out…

"Nayru!"

"Quiet!" I barked as soon as the light came into focus. "I know what I have to do now." Ed stepped back from the grey stone bench I lay on in my cell.

"What?"

"I know what's been happening to me, and I know why." I sat up.

Ed raised an eyebrow.

"Okay… what?"

I looked down at my handcuffed palms. Good thing my transmutation gloves were still in my pocket…

"I have to forget about my wish…"

* * *

><p>Ed rushed me down the main hall of East HQ by the arm, hoping no one would notice us. Al tailed behind as my handcuffs bit into my arms, but we were stopped just as we'd almost reached the military dorms.<p>

"Where do you think you're going?" General Hakuro hunched over us—besides Al—hands behind his back.

Edward groaned; we'd been caught. "What do you want?"

The Major General took a hand back from behind him and made a clicking noise with his tongue and shook his finger back and forth in front of Ed's nose. Then he leaned back over us.

"It's bad of you to disobey your orders, Fullmetal." Ed bit his lip as he was about to say something rash back. Instead, he scoffed in reply. "You should really learn to be a more obedient dog. You know, you could be rewarded."

Ed looked at him. "Yeah, like what?"

Hakuro hesitated. "Only those who are sworn to be loyal can know. It's classified."

"Yeah, whatever." Edward looked past him, then back after no one said anything for a while. "So, I'll catch you later." Ed shut one eye and pointed one of his fingers at General Hakuro in a kindly way, like he was being friendly. He'd almost slipped past when Hakuro realized what he was doing.

"Not so fast." Hakuro held out his arm in front of us. We hit it, and stopped. "Now that you're here, there's no way we're letting you get away again. We'll be keeping an even _closer_ eye on you from now on."

Ed exhaled and let go of my arm. Four guards shadowed him in unison as he stared to the ground, but two of them weren't there for him. They grabbed at both of my arms and started pulling me towards the stairs back up to the second floor where Major General Hakuro's 'office' was.

"Wha? You never said anything about her!" Edward yelled, as the two burly men marched me up the stairs. The other two guards blocked Ed so he could not follow.

"Put her in my office," General Hakuro said. "We'll be getting ready to leave for Central soon." Ed still groped at the air in between him and the huge guards as they pushed closer together to hinder his view. Al jumped a little at Hakuro's words, but knew fighting the military at a time like this would mean only more trouble at the moment.

"And you," General Hakuro turned back to Edward. "You will be having yet another lecture about disobeying the military from your commanding officer. If this happens again, I'm afraid we will have no choice but to take you off of the military's Alchemist line."

Edward gave his enemy a dark look, and stopped trying to squeeze through the soldiers. The Major General broke away from his glare. As he walked away he said, "Put him in his room." He looked back. "Well, Mr. Fullmetal Alchemist, looks like the military's leash might be a bit tighter than you thought."


	28. Line on the Train

Chapter 28: Line on the Train

The two hefty soldiers lugged Ed into his dorm room with him kicking and struggling against their grips the whole way. Even though he'd managed to get his left arm free while they were climbing up the stairs, people gaping and gawking at them the entire time, he could not get his other arm out of their large fists, or injure one enough to make him topple over in pain and let him free. Not even with his metal leg bashing against both of their chests—they lifted him so high off of the ground since he was so short.

With one final heave, the two threw Edward inside the room making him land on one of the beds with a thump, but Ed jumped up and immediately moved to push past them and through the door. Before he could, they slammed it shut and barricaded the door from the outside with their strength.

"I HAVE TO STOP GENERAL HAKURO!" Ed pounded on the door so hard his hand left scratch marks and dents, but maybe that was just because he had forgotten to put his gloves on that morning. "LET ME OUT! I NEED TO—" He slumped over, knocking his head against the door as he still banged. "I need to stop General Hakuro from using Nayru… Please… let me out…" Thinking they had actually listened to his wish the door started to slide open, but instead of letting him out someone else entered. Ed scurried out of the way and as the door shut, he saw who it was.

"Wha? You?"

"Why do you always greet me like that?" Hashimoto asked calmly.

"Because it's exactly how I feel about you…" Edward growled. "Where the hell did you go when we were at the front desk? You just disappeared!" Then Ed noticed what it was Hashimoto was wearing. "Where'd you get the suit?" he asked, getting suspicious.

"Oh, this?" Hashimoto inquired without irony, looking down at his blue military uniform. It had two stars pinned on the shoulders alongside four golden-copper stripes. "Major General Hakuro gave it to me." He stared Ed straight in the eye. "And, along with it, the rank of Lt. Colonel as well." Edward stepped back.

"Wh-what…?"

"You heard me, Fullmetal Alchemist."

"But… we're the ones who broke you out of jail, we're the ones who…"

"The world doesn't work the way you always think it does. There was an opportunity, so I took it. What more is there to say?"

"Why did you side with him?" Edward remembered the hate he'd felt for this man a couple months ago, and now that hatred was re-sparked. "Why would he choose _you?_"

"He must have seen something in me that you and Colonel Mustang hadn't when you arrested me at Menouthis," Hashimoto said simply, with his hands behind his back. "He offered me _everything_."

"Oh yeah, like what?" Edward spat. Hashimoto didn't pay his rudeness any mind.

"He said, 'The military not only comes with money and power, but if you do your part you could get even more, too. Hopefully you will be one of the loyal ones, and get what we're offering here: more than you could ever dream…' Those were his _exact_ words. And after I said nothing, he said he'd grant me the already-higher-up-than-most rank of Brigadier Colonel. I couldn't pass that by, you know. I couldn't just ignore it."

"But you betrayed us." Edward gritted his teeth and tried not to lunge at him.

"Hey, there's no need for name-calling. I never said I was on your 'side', whatever that may even _mean_, and I never said that I wasn't either." He turned to leave. "It's just the way life is. If you don't specify, you better be on the lookout for trouble and nothing short of it. Oh yeah," He stopped. "I almost forgot what I came here for." He turned back on Ed. "Major General Hakuro wanted me to inform you Nayru will be riding a train to Central within the hour and you are instructed to stay here until notified otherwise. Clear?"

"And why do you think I'd listen to what you have to say?" Edward grunted.

"Because," Hashimoto said, smiling. "I'm now a higher-ranking officer than you. And by your duties you _have_ to." He turned again. "Now be a good dog and stay where you're tied. _Ta ta!_" He waved with a bitter grin as he exited, but before Ed could go after him the door closed and was barred by the two men again. And Edward could do nothing.

_Why couldn't he be stronger?_

* * *

><p>"Colonel!" Al almost bashed down the door to Roy's office after running all the way up the stairs. It swung around and hit the wall on the other side. "Colonel, I need your help!"<p>

"What is it? Has Edward gotten into trouble again?" Roy asked, barely looking up from the papers he was writing on.

"Actually, yes, he has gotten in trouble again," Al declared, blinking his yellow eyes. Roy gave Al his full attention now.

"Oh, really?" There was a sly smile on his face as he asked this.

"This is serious, Colonel!" Al yelled. "If he disobeys orders again he's going to be court-martialed!"

"Why should this be my problem?" Roy enquired, staring back down at his papers with a transfixed look as he marked the pages. "He's your brother, do something."

"I would but he doesn't listen to me and _you're_ his superior officer! You're one of the only people he _does_ listen to!"

"'One' of the only people?" Roy questioned, peeking a glance up at Al.

"Yeah."

Roy looked back down. "Can't you get someone else to calm him down?"

"No, the only other person he _sometimes _listens to is being shipped to Central. And I'm pretty sure—"

"Shipped to Central?" Roy became more focused now and dropped his pen to regard Al better. "Who's being shipped to Central?" He looked up at him.

"Nayru," When Al remembered he had no idea who she was he added, "The Water Alchemist."

"What?" Roy stood. "Why is she going to Central? What did she do?"

"Nothing!" Al said. But then when he thought about it, she must have done _something, _so he said, "Well, that is I'm not exactly sure."

"You're not sure?" Roy spurted. "How could you not be sure? Don't you know what that means?"

"What what means?"

"What it means if someone is being shipped to Central," Roy answered with much exuberance. "It means that they're either being promoted or they have something that military must really want." Al knew which reason it was why they were bringing Nayru to Central.

"…But what would Nayru have that they want?" Al asked after a while.

"I don't know." Roy shrugged as he walked around his desk, holding the papers. The door opened behind Al. "You know her better, you tell me." Roy handed the papers to Riza who looked between the two of them.

"Know who better?" she asked.

"Nayru," Al and Roy replied together.

"Oh…" Riza sauntered back through the door, but stopped with her hand on the handle to listen when she heard Al's voice speak again.

"And besides, I don't know her that well either, actually."

Roy hesitated. "…Then who does? Anybody?" Riza teetered on the balls of her feet waiting for one of them to respond to the unevenness in the air. Finally Al responded, but only made the feeling more unsteady.

"Yeah, big brother does…"

* * *

><p>Hashimoto shut the door quietly behind him as he entered the dim office room. The curtains were covering the few windows there were though we were in a meeting room, but light still seeped through onto the clean carpet so it was easy to see. He turned around with a swish to give the two of us a startled face.<p>

"Oh, I didn't know you were in here…" he uttered with a distraught look.

"Yes, it seems we are," General Hakuro said, carelessly looking over his shoulder. "Did you do your job? You took a little longer than suspected…" He kept sipping the tea in his lap, keeping the saucer on his crossed legs—there was a lot more room in here since we weren't in the same guest office like before.

"Yes… sir." Hashimoto gulped.

"Good." The Major General stood up, setting his tea cup down on the small coffee table between the two of us. "We'll be heading off now. We don't need to keep the high-class dogs in Central waiting too much longer." Hakuro brushed closely past Hashimoto who peeped at me with a look of distress. "You'll be fine here, won't you?" General Hakuro asked as he opened the same door Hashimoto had come through. He glanced at Hashimoto out of the corner of his eye. Hashimoto snuck a look back at him and then nodded. General Hakuro closed his eyes as he turned his head back to the other side of the door. "Good. And remember, Lt. Colonel, stay true to your duties and you _will_ get rewarded with an offering beyond either of our wildest dreams. You can be the one to bring her to the station. Don't keep me waiting." The wood shuddered behind General Hakuro and the two of us were left in the room alone.

After a long time of hearing only the murmur outside the door opposite the one both Hashimoto and Hakuro had gone through, he finally looked at me and sighed. Then he snuck over to me in my seat and passed me something from under his sleeve. "Before I take you to your doom, here. I stole these from Hakuro just as he was walking out."

My silky transmutation gloves were in his hands. They had been taken from me when General Hakuro stopped Ed and I when we were hurrying down the hall. I held them in my hands running my hands over the blue runes like I always did as I slipped them in my sleeve right past my handcuffs. I looked up at him. "I'll use these later." Hashimoto watched me.

"How much later is 'later'?"

"I don't know." I shrugged, then considered what to say. I answered, "When the time comes." But even I didn't know when that would be.

* * *

><p>"Major General Hakuro, sir." Colonel Mustang slammed the door open bumping many piles of papers in the small office over and putting one hand to his head in a salute. When he saw the room was empty he lowered his hand. "He's not in here…" Roy turned back around to face Riza and Alphonse re-shutting the door. "I thought you two said he'd be in here."<p>

Riza sighed. "I said he'd _probably _be here, sir."

"So? What's the difference?" Roy asked, striding back to the information desk on this floor. Riza and Al followed.

"He might already be at the station by now, sir," Riza pointed out.

"What?" Roy and Al jolted.

"Do you two not think rationally? Al took a while running to your office, and we've taken a lot of time searching for him too. He's probably long gone by now."

"Then—this was pointless?" Roy asked, unbelieving.

"Yes, it was, sir."

Roy hunched over. "Well I guess I can't argue with that…" He looked back over at Alphonse, putting one hand on the top of the information desk—no one was sitting in it. "Now what?"

"I don't know," Al said. "Is there really no way for us to catch him?"

"I'm afraid not. Unless you want to follow him to Central then we'd have to take the next train which isn't until tomorrow."

Roy blew out a breath. "Well that was a waste of time. I guess we'll be going to Central tomorrow, alright Alphonse?"

Al swayed. "What about brother?"

"What about him?" Roy inquired. "He disobeyed orders and now he's going to have to pay for it. There's nothing I can do there. You'll just have to wait until he's let out of confinement."

"How long will that be?" Al asked.

"I don't know. It just depends. Anyways, I'm sure they'll let him go after he's done a couple more missions or something like that."

Al grew worried. "But that could take months!"

"Well, I'm just telling you what's gonna happen." Roy shrugged. "I better be getting back to work. You can probably go see him if you want."

"Since when did you care about getting your work done, sir?" Riza queried as he trodden off.

"What do you mean? I've always _loved _working! Haven't I ever showed it?"

"Actually, no, sir…"

Al chuckled at them, but he needed to go find Big Brother and tell him everything, even if it would only worry him.

* * *

><p>The rails clanked under the jerking train. I sat next to Major General Hakuro and Lt. General Raven in the cafeteria car of the train. The passing trees were nothing but green blurs to me in the setting sun, and even though all of the people around us were laughing and smiling—there hadn't been anymore private cars available—my mind was far away. So far, I almost thought I was having one of my flip-outs again.<p>

Remotely down the train car I heard a station master talking to someone. "I'm sorry, sir, but you are not permitted in this car since you did not pay for first-class. I'm afraid you will have to leave." The man must have pushed past the station master, for then I heard him yell. "Uh—SIR! Sir, I'm sorry, but—" Suddenly he quieted down. There was a thumping sound of something hard and heavy hitting the floor and all of the laughing and smiling people hushed, muttering things to each other in high voices. I didn't look behind me, not even when I felt General Raven's weight lift from our seat.

"Now, now, I don't know what you're doing on here, but if you don't get off out of here immediately one of us is going to have to escort you. Just turn around before anyone gets hurt."

The body next to General Raven's felt like someone's I knew. I don't even know how until then the trees started to slur around the words and murmurs of the passengers. '_Not now!_' I told myself. 'Not this time! No way in hell you're letting yourself pass out again! At least, not until you turn around and see who it is who's come to save you…'

This time it actually worked. '_Alright, as you wish,_' the little voice answered, fading away just as I heard all of the others getting up to confront the intruder—my savior—too.

"Hey, just drop your weapons and—" Another body fell to the floor. I still didn't turn around in case I was wrong of who it was, though not entirely sure it wasn't who I was hoping for.

"Major General Hakuro, General Raven," I spun around. "I'll be taking this girl," Don said with his most jubilant of smiles.

* * *

><p>"Brother!" Alphonse squeezed past the two busty guards at his door. They just barely let him through—obviously not wanting to. What did they have against Al meeting with his brother?<p>

"What is it, Al?" Edward muttered from the dorm bed looking over to him. He lay with his hands behind his head in his usual black outfit. The window sat open, but more guards were posted below it. The chilly December air blew through it, right onto the scars on Ed's right shoulder but he couldn't feel it at the moment. Edward raised his eyebrows slightly up his head though he didn't move another muscle.

Al noticed the yawning soldiers outside the window. "I guess they're really serious about not obeying the military, huh?" Al asked quietly.

Edward lurched upward and sat with his legs crossed. "Yeah, I guess they are. What did you come here for?" Ed asked impatiently, placing his elbows on his knees.

"Oh, Roy and I are going to be leaving for Central tomorrow to find Nayru, and I just wanted to say good-bye," Al said sheepishly.

"Oh…" Ed didn't really know what to say to that. "I guess I'll be staying here while you go save Nayru," Ed sighed.

"Yeah." Al waited another second. "Well, see you later, Ed."

"Uh-huh." Edward flung himself back down on the pillow.

Just as he shut the door, Ed remembered, 'Crap, I forgot to tell him about Hashimoto…' He tilted his head back to the window. Next to it was the same chair he always hung his coat on. He hadn't realized he was lying in Nayru's bed until just now.

Ed sat up again and unclipped the top snap on his jacket to pull it off. He threw it to the foot of the bed but it went a little too far. Something clunked on the floor. Ed stopped and peered over the bedpost to squint at the black cloth sprawled all over the wood; light was shining off of it and reflecting in his face from the late hour. Something silver glinted in the black pocket. Edward slowly outstretched toward it with his his right hand—the sudden wind blowing right between his flesh and his automail—and plucked out the object. Vorrina's dagger. Ed smirked. He knew what to do…

* * *

><p>"What makes you think we'll just hand her over to you?" General Hakuro asked, watching the two silver daggers in Don's hands waver back and forth, blades pointed at the five of us.<p>

"Maybe, if you haven't noticed I'm the one who has their weapon ready. While, yes, you have three—well, now two guards with guns, you have a much higher risk of hurting a passenger than I do." The women across the aisle gasped as she clasped her hand to her mouth. "So maybe, just maybe, you might wanna reconsider your position if you accidentally _missed _and hit someone else." Major General Hakuro gulped and looked to General Raven for the answer.

"Uh—I—I guess—"

"Take your time. No hurry here," Don assured, eyes darting to daggers' tips.

"SHOOT HIM!" General Raven bellowed, which must have been what Don was expecting. Before either of the guards could even blink he ducked under the closest trembling soldier and kicked the gun from his grasp. He stood up to be back to back with the petrified man and cuffed him in the back of the head with a hard elbow, making him fall on top of the other guard on the ground. The guard next to me had a perfect shot at Don from where he was, but he evaded the bullet that came whirling at him. Both Generals received a boot in the face as Don flipped over onto the table in the middle of us to stab the last soldier in the shoulder. He hollered in pain, but Don tore the dagger out without paying him any mind.

"Come on." He reached his hand out to me from atop the table as General Hakuro and General Raven staggered back up, both of his blades in the other hand. I took it, but surprisingly tentatively. 'I guess I'm still not used to holding people's hands…' I thought kindheartedly to myself. '_Still…_' Don pulled me up as soon as our hands made contact and we dashed to the car door stepping on people's food the whole way.

"STOP HIM!" General Hakuro hollered, but no one dared to challenge us.

The wind rushed by as Don helped me up the ladder to the top of the car—my hands were still handcuffed. I was nearly pushed off the train when he let go to look to the side of the train car, but caught myself just in time. We sped right above a lake.

"Right on schedule!" Don shouted over the sound. "Okay, now we have to jump!"

"WHAT?" I wasn't asking this because I hadn't heard him, I heard him fine! I was asking this because I didn't _believe _him.

"WE HAVE TO JUMP! INTO THE WATER!" he screamed.

"WHY?" I screamed back.

"HOW ELSE ARE WE GOING TO GET OFF OF HERE? THEY'LL WAKE UP SOON! I DIDN'T HIT THEM TOO—"

"THEY'RE UP THERE!" That was General Raven's voice. I looked behind me and before I could argue anymore I heard a click of metal and Don's fist on the hood of my sweatshirt. He leapt off the side, me having no choice but to plunge down into the water with him—unless I wanted to plant my face on the side of the train.

It was a good thing I knew how to swim, but I usually swam with _mostly _my hands. With them being bound that wasn't a good thing for me. I couldn't see the top of the water even though I had managed to steal a breath once, but I couldn't find it again. Don had to pull me to the surface.

"You idiot! Don't you know how to swim?" he panted as he dragged me behind himself, thrashing all the way back to the peaceful train track since there was no other land anywhere near—it was _way _off in the mist, probably two miles away. The ripples from the train's vibration were still emanating from the large supports of the track.

"I know how to swim!" I screeched mouth full of water.

"Then how come I'm here lugging your ass?" He threw me on top of the tile platform where there was another ladder back up to the main track. My stomach slammed right into the side, making me rasp and my eyeballs bulge. I'm sure I also heard a rib snap.

"Ow…" I croaked rolling the rest of the way onto the tile platform.

"Hey dummy, move over, will ya? I want to take a rest too."

"Sorry…" I sat up against the huge round scaffold that the ladder was bolted to while I nurtured my stomach. Don smacked himself right next to me after—finally—getting his grip on the smooth tile. He gazed at me, then his eyes went down.

"Uh, are you okay?" I looked where he was looking.

"Oh, uh… I don't know…" My old wound where Shadow must have stabbed me had slightly reopened. Red specks dotted the whole front of my sweatshirt. Then I realized. "Oh, shit!" I quickly yanked my sweatshirt off and dunked it in the water.

"Watch it, will you? You're getting me wetter than I already am! And I'm freezing!" Don hissed, scooting as far over on the slick tiny platform as he could.

"Sorry!" I said, rolling my eyes. "I don't want this thing to get stained! It's my favorite sweatshirt!" I stood and held up my sweatshirt to see if I had washed it out in time. It was only then I saw how calm it was. There weren't even birds here in the middle of nowhere. Not trains, not people, not life. Don and I were the only beings for miles.

"I didn't even know this lake existed…" I said quietly.

"Neither did I." Don turned his head to the land in the direction our train had come from. It was the farthest land I could see but of course Don said, "That's where we need to get to."

I stared blankly at the whirring trees on the closer side. Something was in there. I had a feeling it was Ebla. Then I remembered something. "Hey Don, where did you go after I left you at the old building that blood trail led us to?" He looked back over at me, apparently not seeing the trees twittering. "You weren't with everyone else, were you?"

"No, I actually stayed there to be with Vorrina," he said.

"Uh… Vorrina?"

"Oh, that's right, you didn't hear. The girl you and Ed and Alphonse call 'Shadow' was actually still alive, and she was in that building."

Another train's whistle sounded almost right above us before I could say anything. Don snapped his back adjacent with the wall as it went by, making small waves from the many scaffolds behind it. Even once it had passed, I thought of Vorrina. '_She's alive?' _I didn't believe myself. I saw her die, I heard her—

"Don," I interrupted my own thoughts just as the train's caboose zoomed into the far trees. He turned his blond head toward me. "You love her, don't you?"

Don smiled as he looked at his bloody hands, and huge black boots still covered in mud from tromping in the forest so much when he was still in the Kalki. "How is it everyone can see that?" He squeezed his fists and looked back at me. "Is it really so obvious?"

I laughed, "Yes, I'm afraid it is."

He sighed but out of humiliation. "Well, it doesn't really matter. I guess we should be going to meet her." He stood up. He seemed kind of happy to me and I'm sure I did see him smile as he craned his neck to the trees so far away. "Let's go," he said.

This Don, the Don I saw now was so much different than the Don I'd seen at the Kalki mansion. So much different than the Don I'd seen on the train when he faced the military's soldiers, and yet, he didn't always need to run to her. He didn't always need to be with her. And the way he and Vorrina had talked to each other so long ago when she had stabbed and taken me to the Kalki mansion told me that he hadn't even told her his heart's desire. It told me she didn't even know he loved her, so she necessarily didn't love him back. But just knowing she was alive had made him act different from that same sorrowful Don in front of the old wood manufacturer building. Just knowing she was safe made him a whole different person. Why couldn't that be enough for me?


	29. Mission Three

Chapter 29: Mission Three

The guards outside of Ed's door came back in to escort him to Brigadier Colonel Hashimoto in the middle of the night after everyone else had gone home to bed. But Edward wasn't sleeping when they entered. He couldn't. He had just been sitting on the hotel bed awake waiting for someone to let him out.

Though he could have broken the restraints put on him easily, Ed let the two soldiers outside his door lead him without a word. As soon as he realized who they were taking him to Ed thought about where Nayru was, and if she was going through the exact same thing because of her 'gift'. But what she had hadn't been a gift, it was a torment. Edward was surprised the military even knew about it, but then again, how couldn't they? She had been separated from everyone else, and now who knew what they were doing to her…

The guards opened the door to find Hashimoto's office empty and sent Ed stumbling in. "Hey!" Edward turned right back around as they shut it on him and pounded it with the same fist. "What the hell? Why am I in here if there's no one—" Ed curved his head around at the clicking of the opposite door. "Oh great, you again?"

"Yes, I'm afraid so," Hashimoto said curtly as he sat himself and gestured to the seat across from his messy desk with one hand.

"What do I have to do?" Ed asked before even blinking at the seat Hashimoto directed him to.

"Why don't you sit down and we can talk about it?" Hashimoto gestured again to the chair. Ed took the seat with a scoff and did not look at Hashimoto. "Okay, don't sit down. Doesn't matter to me." He folded his hands. "Okay, there's been a change," Hashimoto began.

"A change in what?" Ed asked, now watching him with a bored face.

"Just let me talk, alright?"

"Fine, fine," Edward said, flaring his hands pressed together between the cuffs as he looked away.

"So, as you probably have already heard your assistant the Water Alchemist was already transferred to Central because of her… strange abilities, right?"

"Yeah, what's that got to do with anything?" Ed stared with his bored face again.

Hashimoto acted like Ed hadn't said anything. "But the point is, she… never really got to Central…" Edward watched the features on Hashimoto's face twist.

"Go on," Edward said slowly, not knowing if this was going to be good or bad.

"The train apparently had an undesirable passenger on it that helped her escape. And according to the reports of Generals Hakuro and Raven it looked as though the individual was actually part of the Kalki by his outfit." Edward still observed him, and was about to respond when he realized Hashimoto had stopped talking. But then Hashimoto went on. "Both Hakuro and Raven know the reason you went against your orders in the first place was to find the Kalki, so they know you wouldn't command such an operation. While your assistant actually seemed to know the man who captured and carried her off the train. Obviously—they—she wasn't following _your _orders or anything to do such a thing, so when she ran off in the outskirts of East City—the point is, they've come to the conclusion she wasn't doing it under your supervision."

Ed nodded in astonishment as his eyebrows rose to the ceiling. "Aren't you going to tell them what really happened?" Edward asked. Hashimoto searched for the right words.

"Em, what do you mean? That is what happened, isn't it? No one knows who the man was, so there's nothing more to say."

Edward suppressed a smile. "Alright, that's understandable. I have a question, when did you decide that going into the military was better than staying with us?"

"When he offered me the position of Brig—"

"No, no, I mean, _where._"

"We ran into each other at the lavatory." Hashimoto blinked.

"That's all it took for you to say yes?"

"Well, more or less, but pretty much."

Ed thought maybe his original thoughts were the ones that were right, but couldn't be sure. "But anyways," Hashimoto said. "Back to your case. If it were up to me I'd make you do all of those jobs in the North everyone tries to avoid, but that's just me. Here's what General Raven is now offering now that he's taken your current 'situation' to account," Edward sat back yet again, but kept his eyes on Hashimoto. "Usually, when someone disobeys the military they court-martial them on the spot, but since you are—Lt. General Raven's exact phrase—a '12-year-old-brat-who-knows-nothing-of-life-or-the-military', they would let this one slide a little past and just swamp you with the work of many missions instead. But, now even more so seeing that some of the actions thought to be directed by you weren't even by your hand, they've decided to give you a choice to what you have to do. You can either go on one large mission that should take you a week at the most—if you do it right—or three smaller ones that will take you two. It's completely up to you." Hashimoto waited for Ed's answer.

Ed shrugged, not seeing why this was so hard. "Who wouldn't choose the one mission against the three smaller ones?" Ed asked hysterically. "What's the catch?"

Hashimoto almost laughed. "The thing with the three small missions is there are no guidelines. You can choose whatever three missions you want assigned to State Alchemists, and take whoever you want with you. But with the large one they choose both of those things for you."

"What's so bad about that?" Ed still didn't see all of it.

"The one mission they would assign to you would be to recapture Nayru and bring her to Central Headquarters along with the man who helped her. Anyone else you run into or get in your way would be eliminated—murdered."

* * *

><p>"Of course I chose the first choice, Al," Edward told his brother the next day at the train station. "Funny we're going on the same train, huh?" he asked. Roy stood with a hand over his face.<p>

"To believe I'd be standing here at the train station to help you two get your stupid sidekick back from the high-ups in Central," he muttered. "What's her name again?" he asked perking up as the train came into view. "Naru?"

"No, it's Nayru. And she isn't my 'sidekick'." Edward stared down the tracks with a lost look on his face. Roy and Al peeped at him out of the corner of their vision. He was impossible to read.

"Well whatever," Roy continued. "At least we—"

No one heard the rest of his sentence for the train came whizzing past.

"All aboard!" a station master yelled once it came to a stop—Roy looking very forsaken.

"Well, see you guys later," Edward mumbled as the same two guards secured themselves closer to him as they boarded the train. Roy, Alphonse, and Riza went to one end and Edward and the two gorillas to the other.

"WAIT A SEC!" Edward heard Roy scream. He came stomping back to point a finger at Ed's nose which was many feet below him. "If you're going to Central to find Nayru yourself then why are we going too?"

"B-because…" Edward didn't really know how to answer. It was only then, Roy towering so far above him, that Edward realized he was still only 13-years-old. Not that it mattered, of course. The only answer Edward could come up with was something he couldn't say in front of the guards, so he said, "I don't know," and shrugged. Alphonse and Riza came up behind Mustang just as he turned back to go tell them.

"We aren't going to Central," Roy said, more to Riza than Al. "Since Edward is already going there's no point to us going as well."

Al moved. "But sir, you should come to help us—"

Roy looked at al. "Sorry Alphonse, but it looks like you and your brother are going to have to do this alone. I can't leave East HQ unless it's very important."

Al cocked his thick head. "Why not?"

"You have your secrets and I have mine. Now if you'll excuse me I have to be getting back before mine are already crushed." He inclined his head out of the train car to Riza and Alphonse was left.

"Well now what?" he asked more himself than watching Edward who was struggling not to be prodded to the other end of the train by his 'body-guards'.

"I don't know, Al," he said with much effort. "Hey bozos, stop for a sec, will ya? That's my brother over there."

"We were instructed to get you straight to your seat without speaking to anyone—"

"Yeah I know, but if you haven't noticed Colonel Mustang and Lieutenant Hawkeye aren't going to be attending this ride anymore, so we can take their seats in the military car. Now, MOVE!" Edward surprised them by pushing with all his strength on their stomachs with both metal limbs that they almost toppled over. He trotted over to Al, people whispering behind their backs and the two guards coming to grab Ed, but he acted like none of them were there.

"Hey Al, why don't you come with me? You could he—" The two guards took his shoulders and pulled him back.

"Since you chose the first mission over the other missions we were also specifically instructed not to let your brother come with you," the same guard said with his same low voice. Edward glared back at the two but knew there was nothing he could do that wouldn't make things worse. Finally he retaliated, "He's coming for his own business. It has nothing to do with me and it won't interfere." Edward gave Al a look that told him to play along.

"Uh, yeah, I was just going to Central to—visit their library!" Al said quickly. "I wanted to see if they have anything more on the Philosopher's Stone than they do here in East City's library." Edward thought about it and he wished that _was _what his brother was going there to do, but then thought more of Nayru's safety and found which was more important. He looked up at the massive soldier.

"Well… I guess there's nothing I can say against that. Carry on." He nodded his head to Al and pushed past him with Edward still in his grip. Al followed them.

"Hey, what are you doing?" the other soldier asked halting all three of them.

"I'm coming to the military's car, too. Unless you're going to make me sit out here." Alphonse seemed to give both of them a sad look—somehow—which Ed couldn't help but feel gratified toward his brother for being able to pull it off with that body. The guards let in.

"Fine. Follow us."

When they were left alone in the train car for just one small moment while one guard was speaking with the conductor and the other taking a piss, Edward grinned at his brother.

"Nice work, Al."

* * *

><p>I heard Don shriek as he slipped back under the water. I followed right behind him, splashing a lot since I couldn't get my hands to move exactly the way I wanted with them still tied.<p>

"Don—" I yelled, getting water in my mouth. I coughed a little and spat it back out. "DON!" I screamed louder.

"WHAT?" he screamed.

"How much farther is it? I can't see with all of this water in my eyes."

"Moutoomoo arther." His voice was muffled by my frantic splashes.

"What?"

NOT TOO MUCH FARTHER! NOW SWIM!"

"Fine, I will," I grumbled, until I couldn't take it anymore. I stopped to a steady trend so I could wipe my eyes. He was right; the trees _were _a lot closer, but they were still stirring. It still felt like something was in there…

It was happening again. The oscillating branches shaped themselves into fuzzy, green hands, moving, swaying, reaching for me. They whispered things in a language I could not understand, but they made me see things. Everything else around me converted all at once into tiny sections of colors that made everything I saw much like Vincent Van Gogh's Starry Night, except now not only were they all broken into nothing but splotches of paint-like textures all around me, they _moved _too. The colors were green at first, all moving with the wind just as the trees would but then shifted. The green hands disappeared and the colors started moving all in one circle. Around a giant flaming orange and yellowish-golden globe; a white gleaming smile appeared on it. All the while the voices gibed and clawed at the back of my skull. They said things I didn't want to hear, but this time they did not pressure me about my promise to them and them to me. I felt myself squinting, and the redding orange died away into a pretty blue. Now it _did _look like Starry Night. The segments of blues, purples, and aqua swirled all around each other. Never stopping, never changing, only moving as if on an affixed track.

An arm went around my stomach. I couldn't breathe. The world went black.

This time when my butt slapped on land I didn't break my ribs—at least, I didn't think. I rid my eyes of water to see Don clawing the soft mud on the shoreline, ripping out grass instead. Once he got himself sitting soaking beside me I stared back out to the tracks. His hot sweaty breath touched the hairs on my neck as he looked at me. I saw the sun's light streaming across the silver rails of the train track.

"What was that?" Don finally asked, coughing a little. I didn't answer. "That was dangerous, I almost didn't make it. You could have—" He stopped himself from talking as I slowly looked at him. "Look, kid—Nayru, I didn't mean it like—"

"I know you didn't mean it like that," I said keeping my voice steady. "I know I could've died. I know I just made trouble for you." I tore the tears from my face. "I know there's something wrong with me," I suppurated. I broke my thoughts back to my actions. I had made a promise and I was going to keep it even if I made that promise before I'd come to Amestris. It was that day I promised never to cry over something stupid again. The day I cried over Edward. Lying in bed, nothing to think about but the problems of the world, nothing to nurture me but my own perturbing thoughts, nothing to warm my heart but the blankets on my own bed. It was then I was alone, thinking about nothing but the only thing that could truly defrost me. When I thought of him, everything else disappeared except _his _problems, not mine. But, even then I was still upset by them.

Don shook his blond head back and forth to get the water out getting me wet too. I came back from my lament. The tears were no longer protruding from my eyes. Don put one arm around me. "It's okay."

I gazed down at the dark cloth that was his coat on his arm. When I looked back up, Don was smiling at me. I was just about to give him a meek smile in return, when the two of us whirled to look at the darkening trunks behind. Something black slithered under the brush.

_Ebla._


	30. Nocturne

Chapter 30: Nocturne

It was quiet. We stared at the trees with baited breath, but heard nothing. We waited so long the sun set behind us and sunk below the sea of water. I was just about to look back to Don when we heard the hissing again. Was that Ebla? Or just Vorrina playing a prank? But why would Vorrina play such a prank at a time like this? And the presence I felt could not be her. It was much too intruding and chilled. If it was Ebla, why was he taking so long to strike us? The bushes shuffled and I glanced to the side to see if there was a way around him. It had to be Ebla, what else? I set my eyes back on the shadows and made a plan in my head to somehow give Don the sign and then make a run for it. Hopefully he'd see it, but it wasn't like I could tell him with our enemy so close at hand.

Before I could, the leaves swished and Vorrina's figure stepped out of the trees. 'How good she is at hiding in her fellow shadows…' I thought. The tension in my body disappeared, until I saw something didn't seem quite normal about her… Her arm was… 'So that's how she escaped.' But when I tried putting the pieces together something didn't fit. How had she and Don gotten away from Ebla…? I had to be smarter than this. As soon as I came to see what this was I jumped at Don's distant face beside me, but I did not get anywhere. Don chopped me in the neck, right on my nerves. It threw me on the dirt, and paralyzed me there. It was then Ebla's hissing came out of the trees, black hands closing in, as I blinked up at Vorrina and Don above me. Had they betrayed me just as Hashimoto had? Or was it just that they didn't necessarily love me back—just like Ed.

* * *

><p>Edward traveled to his cell in the dark. Well, it wasn't actually a cell, that's just what it felt like to him. He was separated from Al, he was being guarded, and he had no rights, so it might as well've been a cell. Head clouded with thoughts, he did nothing to stop himself from being shoved into the small dorm room. There weren't even any lights on. But he didn't care. Anything that would make this night go faster. He had to go find Nayru—once again—but at least he knew she was in safe hands with Don… How had he gotten away from Ebla, though? Had he, in the end, left Vorrina? But it didn't matter. Edward lay on the one small bed in the room with no windows, lights, or comfort. Even the cushions felt cold and dry to him, instead of warm and welcoming as they usually did.<p>

Hands tied in a dark cell-like room with nothing but a bed placed in the center of the iron walls that were only about seven feet apart, there was nothing to do but worry and resent. How Edward hated General Hakuro. Now even Hashimoto had gone to their side. What was he going to do now? He wasn't allowed to be with Alphonse, Roy couldn't come and aid him whenever he felt like; he had to keep to his duties if he wanted to move higher. He had burned down his home, and he couldn't worry the people there with his own problems—not even Winry—so, the only one left was… Nayru.

Why was it she was _always _the only one left? Alphonse was his brother, yes, but he could never speak with him as… a _peer_. He was smart, clever, fun, his own brother, but there was just something about Nayru that seemed more… real. Edward couldn't explain it. Roy, he was nothing but a mentor to lead him in the military. As for Granny and Winry…

'_Winry…_' Edward thought of her too much. He worried what she would say if he saw her again without his normal limbs. Would she be angry at him for not getting Al's body back sooner? No… She wouldn't care. She would comfort him, and tell him to just try harder. '_Try harder…' _Edward almost smiled to himself at those two words. Those two simple words. The same words had repeated themselves in head over, and over, and over, never stopping, never pausing, never showing mercy on that day. That second day after the transmutation. It was that day he'd promised not to rest until his brother got his body back, and what was he doing now? He'd found some girl on his porch who changed everything. Was that really all it took? A female and some mumbo-jumbo to make him lose sight of what was really important? He'd made a promise and now he'd just forgotten it? Ed felt suddenly furious with himself for failing to remember his own brother's needs over some girl he barely knew. Was she really what was more important? Did she really matter more than Al? Why was this…?

That was it. Edward couldn't live with the guilt any longer. The guilt of knowing he was the one to blame for their mistake, their sin, and yet he was doing nothing about it. After this, he was not going to forget again. After this, he was going to find Al his body no matter what it took, just as he promised. Even if it meant losing some of the people he loved along the way…

* * *

><p>My neck hurt as soon as I woke up. My head was bent forward almost touching my chest, and as I perked it up, I realized I was sitting in a chair. Cords wound around my waist, pulling me to it. My mouth felt dry and inflexible, and the ringing in my ears didn't help.<p>

'They must have doused me while carrying me here,' but I didn't know where 'here' was. And it wasn't that it was dark, cold, damp or even dim, it was actually so bright that I couldn't see. Even warm and free of water too. But when my eyes adjusted, I had wished I was in the normal dungeon or sewer. Hanging from a building many stories high, the wind picked at my face. My hair dangled to the cords tying me, and there was no one in sight. I didn't dare squirm for even so I was leaning very far forward and any movement could make me slip right through the ropes.

I could do nothing but gape at the stone-covered ground hundreds of feet below, but once I started getting over the shock of being held so high by only a couple threads, I began to look farther around the area than the place I would soon drop. I knew this place. Oh, it had been so long ago. When everything was perfect… _almost_. The familiar crumbling buildings, the red-roofed dome building atop the highest hill, and even its gray depression went far into my brain. If my hands hadn't been tied, I would have wiped the tears from my face.

'_Don't cry,' _my voices told me.

"I'm not," I wept. "I'm only remembering. Things that you wouldn't understand, things you don't care about." I cried until I realized there was someone watching me. "Don." I jeered at him. "What do you want? It wasn't enough that I had to be betrayed by Hashimoto, captured by the military, or shrugged off by Ed, you had to deceive me too." Don said nothing. I looked away from his face. I couldn't stand to look at anyone right now. "And to think, I actually thought you and Vorrina were the two people I could trust."

"Please, don't be mad at me. It wasn't—"

"Shut up." My voice was so sharp Don's face went from sympathetic to speechless. "I don't care what your reasons were. Whatever the circumstances you don't say 'yes' until you know it's your last resort."

A man followed up behind him. I hadn't seen him before, but he looked nice and solid.

"So you've finally waken up, have you?" He didn't say this in a scornful way like I expected. "Master Ebla will be pleased."

"Why do you do this?" I yelled right as he turned his back to Don and me.

He was confused by my question, "What?" but did not turn back.

"Why do you follow Ebla when all he does is use you? When all he's doing is fatting you up to eat and devour after you've given him all of the free labor you can give? If we banded together we could take him, destroy him. You're real master is dead, why do you follow his murderer?"

The man did not answer but said, "Let her down," instead. I couldn't help but feel as though all this was, was fear. But as Don cranked the squeaking latches as I was boosted up, my voices told me Ebla was only a piece of Pride, separated from his kin, losing his way from the rest and the Kalki knew this. So they weren't just afraid of Ebla, they were afraid of the homunculi chasing after them. But it wasn't like they weren't all going to die, anyway.

* * *

><p>'When did this happen…? Ah, yes, I remember. I remember exactly when. While Edward, Lan Fan, Ling and the chimeras were all facing Pride near the slums, right?'<p>

'Yes, that's right.'

'…So… all it took was a little fighting to literally tear Pride to pieces?'

'No, it was when Lan Fan used her flash bombs. If you don't remember, the shadows of Pride all separated when they went off, and it took him a couple seconds to recover. In that time, some of the bonds between Pride and his shadows broke, leaving some without anywhere to connect. Over time they took on a being of their own, creating the "extra" homunculus you see as Ebla today.'

'But… then how did he get here? To this time frame, I mean. If he was separated in the future, why does he end up in the past?'

'But then how did you end up here, too? You are in the past now as well. In your world it is 2011, here it is 1912. You've gone back 99 years yourself.'

'…What are you saying?'

'I'm saying both events are linked. However you ended up here, Ebla did so the same way.'

'…So how did I end up here?'

'You should know the answer to that yourself.'

'…What, I have to answer it?'

'Yes, you do.'

'Then what good are you?'

Truth gave me his normal parting smile—his big, toothy white one. 'I'm just here to help you put the pieces together…'

* * *

><p>That had been the first time I had been able to control it. I actually <em>spoke <em>with Truth. Or was it that he decided to speak to me? Was he not God? Anyway, it didn't matter. He'd told me almost everything I needed to know. I now knew why Don betrayed me. I now knew where Edward and Alphonse were—on my trail, it seemed. And now I even knew how to defeat Ebla. Now it was only to put my knowledge to use, but I could not do this alone. I knew how to get Don _and _Vorrina wrapped right in my devious grasp, and I knew Edward would be arriving soon, it was just to use the time right now with good use. It was a good thing nobody knew what I knew. If they had, I would have been chastised for sure.

Shadow was the one to take me to Hashimoto's old study room.

"This is where he'll meet you," she told me in a whisper. And before saying anything else she turned to leave, the sleeves of many black sweaters tied around her waist and chest.

"Vorrina," She halted right at the door, obviously surprised I knew her name. "I can take you with me to Shamballa." She gave me a look that told me she wanted to say something, but she only hurried to unlock the door. 'At least I know they know what "Shamballa" is…' I told myself. I had been concerned the term would have only been used in the original anime, but apparently it wasn't. "Vorrina, stop," I started again. "I know more than anything you want to see what's on the other side." She stopped fumbling with the locks on the door. "I know that the real reason you stayed with the Kalki was not only because you had nowhere to go, but you were also fascinated by my world." She peeked over at me, hair in her face. "From what they'd told you, you believed life would be better there. And you still believe that. You still want to be able to discover that world. You still want to be able to see it. You still need to get away. Trust me, I understand exactly how you feel. I know what it's like to feel alone." I bowed my head. "I know what's it's like to need to just… _get away._"I lifted my head back up; Shadow was watching me, eyes wet. "Please…" I garbled a little. "Come with me, Vorrina. You _will _get away from all of that."

One tear fell and she dropped to the ground, her one hand rubbing her face. "You… you have no idea what this means to me…" she whimpered. "You have no idea what you're doing…" When she looked back up, her nod was all I needed to know she was going to let me free. But not just yet…

* * *

><p>"Vorrina was presented to me as my apprentice, but she was much more than that. She, even being a child, learned and remembered everything I taught her without fail. She always knew what move to preform, she always knew what she had to do next. And soon she became so advanced she even passed me. I will have to say I was jealous at first, but then I couldn't help but admire her strengths. She was always so focused, so clear, so precise… I could never match up to that. Even as I taught her as a young boy, I saw there was something else in her something… different. She never asked anything of the Master, she never fussed or whined about anything. And though there were many other talented women who joined the Kalki, none of them had half as much the devotion as she.<p>

"Because of this, none of them really liked her—since she had gotten so close to Master Kalki in such a short time—and I noticed that also the shadow creature Ebla stayed seemingly close to her at all times. All of the other men only saw her for her body, but Master Kalki and I knew who she really was. She did also have one other friend, Rishi, who was her closest friend through all of it, but she could rarely see her with Ebla's watching eyes. But Vorrina was fine, until the Ishvalan war. It took Rishi and Vorrina's spirit along with the other millions. After that, Vorrina just wasn't the same person. She had no one to run to, to lean on, so I took Rishi's place for her.

"I had never been… _mean _to Vorrina, but besides our training I had never really spoken to her. I got to know her, saw her problems as she saw mine. We became close friends, and finally I asked her one day why Ebla stalked her so, since it had been on my mind ever since I met her. When she told me he was her father, I didn't know _what _to think. I wasn't sure whether I should tell her the truth or let her believe it. But when she spoke of her father, she always seemed happy, and there I took my chance.

"I picked her back up on her feet, told her to be independent. She saw what I told her to be true, just as my teachings had been. I even asked Master Kalki to get Ebla off of her back, and he did. Now, Ebla was not too pleased, but with no one to no longer follow, Vorrina always went after me. Since she had always been more of a follower than a leader, many called her 'the Shadower', but over time it just changed to 'Shadow'.

"She grew happy and content and _did _learn to stand alone, though a long time coming. Many dropped her nick-name then, but that's what I still called her. She seemed to like it, and we always got some giggles out of it while on missions together.

"The thing I've noticed about her, though, is when she spoke of her father, the sky twinkled in her eyes, but she never even once mentioned her mother… almost as though she never existed…" Don gradually raised his head to look at me. "I think her mother has something to do with your world."

I was baffled. "W-what do you mean? What would she have to do with Shamballa? And that's the reason why Shadow—I mean Vorrina wants to come to Shamballa?"

"I don't know…" Don put one hand to his chin. I would have done the same, but I was still tied in the chair in Hashimoto's study. I thought for a second.

"Well, what's her name?"

Don looked a little startled when I asked, but still answered me. "Oh, um… I think it was… Mary… Mary Henley."

I could not believe my ears. My pupils enlarged twice the size as I croaked, "That's the name of my mother."


	31. Choices

Chapter 31: Choices

"She was your mother?" Don asked trying not to raise his voice or sound incredulous for there were Kalki guards patrolling the main hall.

"She _is _my mother!" I said back. "But for all we know they could be two different people. Do you know anything else about Vorrina's mother? Anything at all?"

Don sat back. "Well, I know she was captured by the Amestrian military while Vorrina and her father were trying to get away, but other than that." He shrugged. "You'd have to ask her."

"Well that wouldn't be awkward at all," I said as sarcastically as I could. "Just ask her what her mom was like and then tell her I was actually her long lost sister!" I wiggled a little in my bonds as I scoffed.

"But we don't even know if she really is your sister, anyway!"

"Well, what, it was totally coincidence our moms have the same name? I doubt it."

"Okay, you have a point there, but do you even know why you are here?"

I shook my head. "No…" But then I remembered what Truth had said. _"I'm saying both events are linked. However you ended up here, Ebla did so the same way."_ So that meant the two of us came here the same way? But how was that? I had been sucked through my computer! I was pretty sure computers weren't invented in Amestris. But Truth probably didn't mean that quite so literal. If I could just find out _why _I was here then maybe I would know many other things too, even though I already knew so much.

"Don," I guessed I did need to know. Vorrina had to be told, and it was almost time, too. "Get Vorrina, I need to ask her myself."

* * *

><p>Edward clapped his hands and destroyed his restraints as soon as he awoke in the night. No one could have heard—the walls were made of thick iron. He drew Vorrina's dagger from within his belt, surprised no one had inspected him and taken it when he arrived at Central HQ but he didn't care at that moment.<p>

Ed listened for any guards outside his door with his ear pressed up against the metal, but he couldn't hear anything so he just looked under the crack to see two pairs of huge boots. There was no way he was getting out the 'normal' way, so he had to think of another way, but what?

It wasn't after too long Edward heard Alphonse's familiar footsteps, and a couple gongs and thumps that told him the two guards were taken care of. The door opened and without a word to the other, the two brothers slipped silently through the halls. Whenever they came across other soldiers Al would distract them in enough time for Edward to slink right around them without a sound. All was fine except for the fact the two of them had no idea what they'd do once the military found out the two of them had escaped, going against their orders again. There was no way they'd be spared another time.

* * *

><p>Edward and Alphonse got to the same train tracks Nayru and Don had jumped off of just as dawn arrived. They found the tracks with no trouble as soon as they checked the first shore in the fading moonlight, the shadows falling slowly on the trail. Knowing General Hakuro or Raven would be on their trail at any moment they had no time to see if the footprint impressions in the ground were truly the right path.<p>

They were both alarmed to know Ebla's slithering depression was with Nayru and Don, but had no time to think about it. They followed the tracks as long as they went and when they drew out a lot longer than either of them suspected wondered when it would end. Thinking they both knew exactly where it was going to lead, the two ambled slow, but carefully thinking of the hardships to come as they approached to the end of their journey with Nayru. They knew it to be true.

* * *

><p>"So that's all you remember of her?" I asked. "Just her getting taken away from you when you and your father were trying to pass down to Aerugo?"<p>

"Yeah."

"Nothing else? Not her ever saying she, uh… _knew _anybody in the military, or that she needed to help anybody in the military do anything?"

"No."

Since anyone could see there was no way I was going to get any answers out of Vorrina, I had to try and ask my voices again. Maybe they'd let me talk to them again. I closed my eyes, willing my inner voices to speak but none came.

"What are you doing?" Vorrina asked, watching me.

I sighed. "Oh, nothing. I was just trying to get the answer, but I guess I have to figure them out myself." I looked over to the door, then back at Vorrina sitting cross-legged on the floor. How shriveled she looked compared to the valiant Shadow I had seen only a month ago. Was she really my sister? I tried to picture my mother's face next to hers. She definitely looked like she was from Xing as Don had told me, but other than her blue eyes there was no Amestrian in her, and my mother didn't even have blue eyes. My grandparents did, but I didn't even know if they were the same two people who had given birth to my mom. Did she even know she was ever in Amestris? Did she even remember? She would and could never hide something like that from me and my two other siblings for so long, so there was just no way. Had Truth forced her over? It wasn't like either Vorrina or I knew, but I would find out someday. I would fit the pieces together.

I came back, once again seeing Vorrina in front of me and knew it was now or never. "It's time to go," I declared. She nodded, taking a lengthy seraph blade from a sheath under her many sweatshirts. She walked around behind me and cut the cables with the clean swipe of her one hand. I stood immediately and cleaned myself of any remaining ropes. She handed me the seraph as she doddered to the door.

I got ready. I knew it didn't have to be done, but I had wanted to do it for a while now. I severed all of my hair with a couple jabs of the hand, the golden-brown threads falling to the ground—the last of them. As I looked at my cropped hair on the floor and on my head, I saw how much darker it had gotten within the last couple months. When I came here it was nothing short of dirty-blond, but now it was no more than light brown with a few golden hairs in between. Almost as though I was staring into my past, I remembered I'd had the same hair on my head for my whole life, never cutting it once.

A snap was heard and I saw Vorrina had the door open. We couldn't wait any longer, so I left my many memories behind. We moved through the winding halls unnoticed, me keeping the seraph at my side at the ready, though I had no idea how to properly use it. Were they really so stupid not to guard the door? Maybe they didn't think the injured Vorrina would dare, or maybe none of them really were with Ebla. No one seemed to like him that much, yet they obeyed.

Taking the secret passageway Hashimoto had when he tried to use me as a hostage we were not found or seen. I only remembered that passage because even during that dream—I couldn't believe I still remembered it—my "Truth's eye" must have been watching for me, because I felt like I had been through there before, and it led back to the same arena. But instead of seeing rows upon rows of metal soldiers like Al, all the two of us saw were pieces of stone turned to dust as small as sand on the floor. The military had really totaled the place, but they couldn't have had Hashimoto making his own army. Though now it would have come to good use since he was on their side.

Recalling Hashimoto, I felt in my pocket for my transmutation gloves. 'Perfect,' I thought to myself, but I didn't feel at all happy. I knew Ed was coming for me, and that he was even going against the military again to do so. And now I wouldn't even be here. But Edward did somehow stay in the military, I knew, so I should have had nothing to worry about. But I didn't know if I changed the reality within Amestris with my actions.

Once we got to the 'out' side, I bashed my hands together, to the wall, and then behind the two of us when we stepped out into the light. Thankfully there weren't many Kalki members left anymore, or else the grounds around the whole city would have been covered, I'm sure. Leaving Ebla, Don, and the rest of the Kalki after us, we fled to the far edge of the ruined city just as the two brothers arrived.

* * *

><p>"WHERE IS SHE?" Edward screamed, slamming Don to the wall. His hands shook as Don gasped for the air that was knocked out of him. His own refection glittered back at him from the face of the blade in Ed's automail.<p>

"I—don't—know!" Don sputtered. "She—she was here one minute and the next she was gone! Both her and Vorrina just disappeared!"

Edward threw Don to the side letting out a roar. "Is there honestly no one we can trust?" he shouted at Al. Alphonse didn't understand why his brother was acting so violently to Don who had had no other choice but to give Nayru to Ebla—he had been holding Vorrina victim, just like he'd been before.

Ed spun fiercely back to Don. "Where was she being held?"

"I—I'll show you. This way." Don staggered up to show them the way, the other Kalki members doing nothing to arrest neither him nor Al. Edward followed impatiently behind Don. When they reached the room Ed spurted past Don, nearly bashing him to the ground. He stopped at the golden locks of hair. They had to be hers. He fell on his knees just as Ebla entered the study room, slithering under the door with his many flaring eyes and gleaming smiles.

Their time was over—almost.

* * *

><p>"I have to go back."<p>

"What?" Vorrina looked at me like I was mad.

"I have to go back," I repeated, looking at her.

"Go back where, exactly?" she inquired.

"Back to where we just came from," I said turning around, the seraph still at my side.

"What? No! Are you crazy?"

"Actually, no, I'm not. I can't just leave them there."

"Leave who there?"

"Edward and Alphonse. I can't just leave them to be—" I fell to the ground, clutching my chest. 'Of course _now _it comes,' I ridiculed to myself. But at least it was happening now instead of in mid-battle, where I had been just about to go.

'You are forgetting something,' Truth's voice told me, but this time I did not see his vision flash before my eyes, only the ground where my hands clasping the seraph blade sat.

"What? What am I forgetting?"

'You need to know more. You still aren't ready yet.'

"How? What more do I need to know?"

'You should know. It's just right next door. All you need to do is go there, and you have everything you need.'

"Go where?"

'Where you started. All of the answers are there…'

I blinked my fixating eyes, getting back to where I was. Somehow I was aware of the incoming military a mile away on the other side of the city. They were here for Ed, Al, and the Kalki. Were they finished? Was it really my time to run away? But I wasn't running away. I was just getting the last piece of my puzzle, because it was there, as Truth said, where all of the answers lie. The place I had started and now to become the place I ended. _Resembool._


	32. Crime and Punishment

Chapter 32: Crime and Punishment

Major General Hakuro swept between all of the lined-up Amestrian soldiers, each one of them holding a member of the Kalki by their tied arms above the head. Some of the frightened men in dark brown or black coats thrashed while they twitched their faces into scared poses, casting glowers to the General while others kneeled still and quiet, as though praying.

'Are they really so naïve to believe God will save them?' Brigadier Colonel Hashimoto probed himself, following behind Hakuro. He watched the Kalki men and—few—women struggle with guns pressed against their heads while biting his fingernails restlessly. He'd never known this job was going to put lives on the line, nor had he been informed of it. Yet, what had he expected?

"Your orders, sir?" a young strapping soldier with a dark expression asked of his superior.

"Kill them. But," All of the soldiers stood tentatively before pulling their triggers. "Only after we have found the one who helped the Water Alchemist, Nayru, escape. He will be of value to us, the rest are useless." The young soldier nodded, then turned to all of the other militants to give them the sign. All at once the 20 or so Kalki members were thrown on the ground, hands still bound above them, giant, heavy boots crushing their backs so their faces were smeared with mud and scratched from the left-over debris of the long-ago earthquakes and more recent pounding rainstorms. But it was sunny now.

Hashimoto felt a churn in his stomach as General Hakuro moved back to the front of the line of men and women. Was he going to kill them one by one, or all at once? He couldn't look. Hashimoto whirled his head away, only to find the one they were looking for. Don gave Hashimoto the same look Edward and Nayru had when they first saw him in this uniform, and how could he blame them? He knew it was wrong, but for some reason he did it anyway. Hashimoto thought of it. He saw the light in those dark red eyes leave. He saw the angry, agonized faces of all of the men and women falling in pools of blood, knowing he'd done nothing to stop the hated Amestrian soldiers from carrying out their fowl deeds. He looked back to Major General Hakuro and saw him bent down to the first Kalki member in line.

"You stupid idiots. Still think you're going to one day get to Shamballa by worshipping the god you call 'the Truth', do you?" Hakuro asked, seeing the piercing eye and many hands of darkness on the backs of all the Kalki members' coats. The man who had General Hakuro's boot on his cheek resembled Don quite a lot, just a more lean face. "Well, I have news for all of you!" General Hakuro raised his voice for everyone to hear as he lifted his boot off the man and faced the crowd. "You _aren't_ getting to Shamballa, and you _aren't _being spared by your so-called 'Truth'. You will all die if I have to search-out the man who helped the Alchemist Nayru myself. But," His tone became pleasant and sarcastically cheerful. "if you _tell _me where I can find this man then I can assure you, you will all walk out of this city alive. Now, does anyone know where this imposter is?" General Hakuro scanned all of the dusty, scratched and tired faces on the ground, so did Hashimoto. "No one can? Well that's too bad."

"Wait!" Don, himself, the man they were looking for, called to both military officials from his ground position. "I know where he is."

General Hakuro slowly turned on him. "Oh?"

'He doesn't recognize him?' Hashimoto asked himself.

"Yes, he's over there." Don thrust his chin against the scattered stones to the black-haired man across from him.

"What?" the man cried. "No! It's not me, it's him!" He pointed one finger of each bound hand at the man General Hakuro had interrogating before.

"No it isn't, it's you!" he returned.

"He's the one who carried out the orders!"

"I saw the whole conversation!"

"Him!"

"That guy!"

"This one!"

"Over here!"

All 26 members of the Kalki broke out into a chorus of bickering, even under the holds of the powerful officers who held their lives in their hands. Not knowing what to do, the overpowering soldiers raised eyebrows to their General who had told them not to shoot until they had found the real imposter.

"Just—quiet down!" General Hakuro tried to yell over the hubbub, lowering his hands as though trying to muffle all of their noise with only his palms. He was getting nowhere. Hashimoto saw this chance.

He rushed over to Don and socked the soldier holding him in the face. Taking up his gun and his hat, he pretended to be the guard on top of Don so Hakuro wouldn't notice, sliding the real guard under his feet to take Don's place. Don stared up at Hashimoto with a look of confusion, but knew he was doing this for him and him only, so had to go now.

"Thank you," he breathed in Hashimoto's ear as he stood. Even with him being so close, Hashimoto barely heard him over the constant arguing.

Don spun to make the run of his life to the other side of Menouthis where he knew Vorrina and Nayru had gone, but was earthed by a black shadow.

"Thought you could run?" the hissing voice juddered, taunting him with high, screeching laughter. All of the arguing voices quieted down from fear of the sound. "Stay or the Fullmetal Alchemist dies." Don rotated slowly to the heart of the beast as he heard stifled grunts and moans. He looked up. Edward was suspended above the ground, legs kicking air as he held the black silhouette's hands clenching his neck. His eyes, though closed, said, "Don't give them anything! Run!" but Don couldn't sit here and watch him die. Shockingly, he'd never watched anyone die.

'But Vorrina has,' he reminded himself. 'She saw her own father—by the creature right here today—eaten. His blood covered her shoes…'

Don retreated.

"I'll stay," he said. Ebla's hands loosened just enough so Edward could slip out. He gasped as he hit the shards of stone, scraping his leg. "On one condition." Everyone waited. "I'll come quietly and do whatever you want as long as you let all of them go." He gestured to the other Kalki members. Ebla's smiles disappeared into moving frowns and his eyes now looked uninterestedly toward General Hakuro. Sweat ran down his cheek.

"We never said anything of 'conditions,'" he reminded everyone there, speaking fast. He saw Ebla still watching him. He gulped.

"Kill them all."

"NO!"

Now not only was Vorrina gone with her sister from another world to some unknown land, but everyone he had ever known and grown up with was dead. Their blood soaked his shoes…

* * *

><p>I walked out of the Rockbell house alone for the second time. This time not even Den was with me. This time I knew Edward wouldn't come to find me. This time, I knew it would be my last.<p>

No one was asleep, though, but I was alone. I still recalled the look on the Rockbells' faces when the two of us stumbled on the doorway. It was almost as though it was Ed and Al looking totally different from when they had last seen them that day all over again. Well, I hadn't expected anything less. We'd been traveling on foot from the South all the way to Resembool without once stopping since we knew the military was looking for us. When Winry and Pinako hadn't seen me for over two months, and then with a girl missing one arm covered in many layers of blood-soaked sweaters of course they would have that [same] look on their faces.

I was kind of glad they were there to tend to Vorrina's ignored stubby wound, but we couldn't stay there long enough for her to get automail. We had to get back to Edward and Alphonse as soon as possible.

The familiar breeze came through my cropped brown hair. It blew many loose hairs out of my head. I missed my blond hair. Why had I cut it, you ask? I did it simply to show Edward I was alive and I had been there so his efforts hadn't been in vain. Though, I knew it would only make him angry, frustrated, and caught when that's all he found. I knew he was in the clutches of the military now and that Ebla was right there next to them, but I also knew there was nothing the military could do or say about his actions at the moment. They couldn't have word of their alliance with the homunculi getting out, even if they were in an abandon city.

I remember the way the beautiful green trees, grass, and air had once filled me with glee, but all I got was a dead scene. All of the trees had turned and it was as close to winter as you could get. The brown, deceased leaves fluttered voluntarily in the wind, and I looked to the house on the hill. Its ashes weren't even left—except a couple—but I knew it was there I'd find what Truth had told me I needed.

I started my slow, ambling walk to the charred property as the air grew stiff. The dry dirt nearly crunched under my feet with every step; there were old tractor tracks in it. None of the trees spoke to me the way they used to. None of the same sounds came out of the grass, and nothing was the same. It was all different.

The diminishing daylight turned a somber violet just as I stepped on the cinders. Most of what there had been of the house had blown away but some rafters and supports still lay.

I didn't know what I was looking for.

I waited. I waited for one of my images to pop into my head, for one of my voices to tell me what to do, but I got nothing. By the time I forgot what I was even waiting for I felt my legs carrying me into the ruins, right to the center.

'_The basement,_' was all I thought of as my brain did all of the work for me—without any of the help from Truth. My legs bumped on a large wooden beam which my hands relentlessly reached to grab a hold of. Before my knees snapped under the weight, I had lifted the tree-trunk thick beam out of the way and was pawing through the splinters and dirt below. What was I looking for?

There! I found it! The entrance to the basement. When all of the rest of the house had burned down, the bottom floor had been untouchable by the poking flames. The last couple stairs of concrete were still there, but all of the wooden ones at the top half had been ebbed away. Afore I thought again, I squeezed myself under the remaining fragments of wood and leaped down into the darkness. This time I couldn't see and there was no light for me to turn on. Even when afraid of the dark and the empty sound that came with it, I kept walking as though I knew the way. Did I?

Then there was a light. Not a very bright one. It was faint and barely burning, but still a flame. As I got to it one hand absent-mindedly took a lengthy splinter from the ground and put its tip to the sweltering black metal of the house furnace—it must have blown a while ago, still being fed by gasoline. My splinter caught a flicker with a crackle, and I turned back down the hall. Where was I taking myself?

I got to Hoenheim's study after a sharp turn and sudden stop. The books on his desk still lay open. Walking right over the blood and white runes I held my flame close the book on the middle of the desktop. It was coincidently on a page about how to make a homunculus. Was this the last page Edward and Alphonse had been reading or Hoenheim? It could be either one…

I flipped the page over to see the same circle that was chalked on the ground. Off to the side, it showed the eye of the Truth with a couple black hands—none flashed before my eyes—except the eye looked different. It looked as though it had something dripping from it; was that a tear? The countenance the eye made also made it looked pained, but something told me that wasn't water coming out of its eye… Was that the Truth, or was it just an eye? The unctuous liquid pouring out of it looked poisoned.

My hand moved to underline the words just above the eyeball and I started reading. The words rushed past my head, but I came to know exactly what it was they were saying the eye and its strange aspects were. The hands around it were like Pride's, the gateway of Truth's, and Ebla's, while the eye could represent any three of them. Its pained expression showed the homunculus the Alchemist in the passage had made was exactly what it showed—pained. It was there to show all who trespassed in God's domain were to be pained, to be punished. The black hands reaching for the reader indicated all who try to make homunculi were to be taken into the portal, and as for the black substance that bled from the pained homunculus eye, it _was_ poisoned, black, and oily because it showed all artificial humans were only poisoned humans—experiments gone wrong—and therefore meant to be killed—deposed of. The picture on the page was the same I had seen only one other place before, Vorrina's coat.

When she had kidnapped me, I saw it, the same picture on the back. From what I knew of the Kalki they were always all about the Truth, all about God, so this sign they had branded on each one of their coats wasn't just a figure-head. It was actually a signal to all Alchemists to obey the laws of alchemy, obey the laws of god, yet to try to find other worlds outside of this one at the same time. Wouldn't that also be against God? So their mission was impossible! It couldn't be done, and the whole time the very thing they were against was always there in front of them. What had the Kalki been like before it was run by fear? I wondered. And that was where the key of how to end it all came.

Ebla was sent back in time after being separated by his core, Pride, to help the same person who all the other homunculi did. The last one loyal the Kalki's true intention is the only one who could defeat him in this time, now before he wreaked havoc upon all of Amestris. I knew exactly what had, and needed to happen.

There is somehow a connection between Amestris and Earth called Shamballa. Just like in the original anime, in this world there was someone like me, and back on Earth the twin whom was identical to me in this world has taken my place. We had swapped, but why? I knew how; the connection had been crossed again, but 'why?' was my question.

Don was still a member of the Kalki when Fullmetal Alchemist, the main story, was going on in Amestris. Being the last, from Ebla's doing, Don devoted his life to hunting all homunculi, but never found Ebla again…

After Pride was split to pieces by Lan Fan, the loose pieces of him had nowhere to go. They still had something with them, the faded memory of being Pride and Gluttony—since Pride had swallowed Gluttony during that battle—wanting nothing but to help Father achieve God by collecting all of the human sacrifices. They didn't have many thoughts of their previous life left, but just enough.

They heard the whispers and voices of people who exclaimed how much better their alchemy was after the eclipse in Central City and that told them their kin were dead. Their father was dead, their brothers dead, all of them, dead. They knew they would reticently go into nothing and die away if they did nothing, so each one of them knowing what was at stake moved together to form a _new _homunculus, the last homunculus. With all of their combined strength, they had enough to survive, but not to strike. They needed more energy. Getting their huge appetite from the Gluttony in Pride, they began consuming people, many putting the blame of so many deaths on the child Mrs. Bradley had chosen to keep as a child, though they had no evidence.

Once he got enough strength, Ebla opened the portal releasing his twin into Amestris and vice versa. Ebla used the power of himself and his twin to bend the universe's rules so he could yet again reenter the portal back to Amestris forcing his twin to go back to Earth, and going back many years to before Edward and Alphonse were toddlers. He took up his quest to help Father by first going to defeat the Fullmetal Alchemist, the one who killed him, but… what he ran into when joined with the military was the Kalki. There were many powerful pawns to be had there, and what did it hurt to have more? He bumped into Vorrina and her father at the borderline of Aerugo and since instructed to by his family, stopped them. He's still just doing what any other homunculus I know would do—serving his Father without hesitation. He was just an "extra" homunculus, the last one, the loose end, and still is.

Now, Don today, not knowing of any of this, hasn't stricken him but remains the only member left of Kalki for his rebellions against the homunculi in the future when everyone else is gone. He will be the last one of the pure Kalki to exist. Not to be looking for "Something beyond this world," but to be protecting the name 'God' as the old teachings of the Kalki organization say.

So it was to be Don who defeats Ebla in the end, erasing him from the story. But the only problem was Ebla was one of only nine in Amestris who could get me home—if he could transport himself back in time, go to Earth and back in one piece there was no doubt he wouldn't be able to do the same with me—but that _still _didn't explain how or why I was here. If Don was to be the star of the show, how were our circumstances and these events connected? Why was I here? Truth still hadn't answered that question.

All I knew was Ebla was the one to get me home and I had to do it before Don killed him. If he was defeated how would I get back home?

I stood straight up from my inclined body still over the research books.

There would be a way. There always was.


	33. Mission Last

Chapter 33: Mission Last

Both Pinako and Winry were still fretting over Vorrina when I returned that night. By then it was almost becoming dawn and Vorrina was fast asleep, though they still worried.

"Nayru," Winry cocked her head towards me. "What model do you think we should hook Vorrina up with?"

"You can't hook her up with anything. We have to go. We don't have time to get automail—sorry."

"What? Why not?" Winry stood from the chair she had been sitting in while watching Vorrina's peaceful self.

"Um…" I knew if I told her Edward was in trouble she'd either run crying from the room or with a flushed look in her face as she muttered curses, holding her wrench. Either way it wouldn't end well. "Her family is waiting for her," I fibbed. It was kind of a horrible thing to say, too.

"Oh…" Winry subsided, getting the look of anxiousness out of her eyes. "Well, family is more important, I guess. But how long can you stay? Not just the night, right?"

I half shrugged. "I don't really know. I think we'll leave in a couple days. But we can't stay long. And Edward is also waiting for us too, and you know how impatient he is."

"Yeah, I do." She smiled as red flew to her cheeks. "You should get some rest. I'll watch Vorrina."

I hadn't been planning on "watching" Vorrina sleep anyway—that would have been creepy—but I just nodded like I had been thinking it. As I turned myself out of the door I rolled my eyes. How could Ed stand her "sweetness?" I sure couldn't…

* * *

><p>The next day I awoke in the afternoon. I tottered to Vorrina's room, rubbing my eyes; she wasn't there. I heard much clanging and talking from Winry's room and the living room. Pinako must have had a customer, and Winry was working on something. I didn't want to interfere with their business, but I couldn't sit and wait around like some people could. "Just do it," that's my motto.<p>

I thought about creeping into Winry's room to ask her if she knew where Vorrina had gone, but I knew what the answer would be as soon as she took off her equipment, giving me a half annoyed glare. Mrs. Rockbell was leading the two men who were her customers to one of the back room—straight toward me—so I went down the corner I had just come. I rounded the bend just far enough so Pinako and her customers wouldn't be able to see me, looking to the fallen leaves outside when I reached the large bright window.

The leaves moved with a curious swirling motion around each other, almost as if swirling around—

There was Vorrina! Stumbling along the path to the main city of Resembool. What was she doing? She was only wearing a black sweatshirt and sweat pants in this weather, with an open wound out to the cold! I didn't care if I bothered Pinako, Winry, or the customers. I dashed out to see what it was she was doing, making nuts and washers spill to the ground as I hit each table in the house with air.

"Vorrina!" I shouted. "What are you doing? Come back!"

She didn't even give me a sideways glance and kept going.

"Hey, Vorrina, wait." I touched her shoulder. Her face was stained of tears. I didn't want to ask, "What's wrong?" because that would just make me sound childish, so instead I gave her a shocked look and asked, "Where are you going? We don't have to leave right away, and you shouldn't be walking out here like this. Especially not alone."

"I can't sit here and wait. Don could be in trouble! I can't just sit here, wondering if he's dead."

I didn't know what to say.

"We have to get to him now. I won't let those two tend to me any longer. I can handle this myself. I can fight. Just give me a weapon."

"And what do you plan on doing when we get back there?" I posed, though I understood exactly how she felt. "Even I have no idea what the plan is. How are we supposed to take out the military troops that are there when we get there?"

She didn't speak a word as the wind blew through her hair. "I thought you knew…"

"Knew? How could I know?"

"With your little…" She gave me wide-eyes since she couldn't explain. "Flip-out pass-outs, or whatever you call them."

"No, they don't usually tell me things directly. I have to figure them out by myself."

"Then what were you doing last night when they'd told you to go back to where you were when you first arrived here? Didn't they tell you then?"

I thought about it. Had they told me? I didn't know if it had been myself, or the voices. "I don't really know. I _think _I figured it out by myself then, but I honestly couldn't really tell."

"You couldn't tell?" Vorrina nearly laughed, wiping some of the left tears off her face, lightening up a little.

"No," I smiled too. "I just seemed to be doing things on my own. I don't think the voices were controlling me, though. But anyways, we need to get back to the Rockbells'."

"No, I can't do it. I'm leaving to Menouthis with or without you." She twirled around and stomped down the road, looking completely off-balance as she did. I sighed and ran to catch up with her.

"If you need to catch a train, you know you need a ticket to get on, right?" I held two pieces of paper out in front of her face. Too bad those two gentlemen wouldn't be traveling to New Optain like they'd been planning. We could trade in these tickets for new ones—the tickets to Menouthis were probably half the price of the ones I held.

Vorrina clasped her hand to her mouth. "You stole those?" she cackled. "How?"

"Their coats were lying on the couch as I was walking out. It was in plain sight, sticking out of the pocket."

She still shook her head. "You stole those?"

"I wouldn't say 'stole,'" I said. "I'd say more of, borrowed permanently without asking permission. Oh well."

* * *

><p>The three of them sat in silence, tied back to back on the ground in the huge arena area of Hashimoto's former study building. Don's head resting in his lap as though he were sleeping rather than the tense stances Edward and Alphonse took. They heard the faint yells of Hashimoto and General Hakuro in the back room, as the men with their guns points at their heads shifted uneasily.<p>

"I couldn't, sir! I'm sorry, I couldn't do it! I couldn't just sit there and watch people die when I could do something about it. Let alone a man I knew."

"It isn't that!" Hakuro countered. "I honestly couldn't agree _more _with you. I know killing all of those people was wrong—"

"Then why didn't you do anything about it? You were the ones who ordered them to shoot."

"I know what I did, but I swear I didn't do it of my own accord."

"Why, is someone threatening you too?"

Edward, Alphonse, and Don moved in acknowledgement to their words, slightly prodding the other in the arm or hands.

"No, nothing personal like that, but actually worse."

"Worse? What could they be doing that's worse?"

There was a long pause where Edward swore he heard General Hakuro teetering on the balls of his feet.

"Let's just say it concerns all of Amestris, and if I speak any more than that to you I and everyone I know will be murdered. Got it?"

"…Alright, but what does this have to do with you killing those innocent people?"

"Ebla was forcing me to! If I hadn't obeyed orders I'd be next to the Elrics and their red-eyed buddy over there, ready to be slaughtered."

Don and Alphonse gasped as Edward tried not to grip the words.

"Now please, in the future just follow orders and do as you're told. Or you and your friends will all be terminated as well."

"I don't have any friends…" Hashimoto whispered. Edward saw Hakuro look at him with sympathy, but then fix his gaze right upon him. Ed looked away as the Generel promenaded forward. He saw Hashimoto give him one, long, final stare, and then disappear to the hallway connected to the small outcropping of the larger room. There seemed meaning, true meaning in what Hashimoto had said with his eyes. What was it?

"Well, you three." He stopped there.

"Yes?" Edward asked after five minutes. Hakuro swayed a little while longer as though thoroughly contemplating what to say.

"Uh…"—yet he still started with "uh"—"I'm not sure if you heard all of that—"

"Oh, we did," Edward cut in. Don watched him from the corner of his puffy eyes.

"Well then," Hakuro let a huge breath escape. "I guess no need to try and explain. The thing is, I really, honestly would just let you go, but Ebla's the one controlling us here, not me if you haven't noticed, so there's nothing I can do."

"Yes you can!" Alphonse defied. "You can all team up together, and we can take down Ebla together!"

General Hakuro licked his lips. "You see, I would do that, but it isn't just Ebla that's got me rigged. There are a lot more involved—"

"There is something you could do," Edward said, sliding his words in coolly. "You could play dumb." Hakuro gave him a look of confusion.

"What?"

"Oh we could, let's say, Alphonse got out with his 'super-strength' and knocked you all unconscious, and then us other two escaped with him and when Ebla comes by you tell him just that. It wouldn't be too hard to pull off as long as everyone plays their part and no one turns traitor. And since there are a lot of you and only one of Ebla there wouldn't be any way for him to suspect _all _of you lying. If he does find out I'm pretty sure _one _of you will be able to escape and tell someone you trust about this without him ever knowing. What do you say?"

The Major General put a hand to his chin in consideration.

"Or we could just speed up the process and do it without your consent—Al!"

Alphonse tugged once, hard at the ropes, releasing all three of them at once. Hakuro raised his hand to tell his soldiers not to shoot as Alphonse flew around the circle, smashing the men and guns to the ground. Before Edward's metal fist clobbered General Hakuro in the face, he managed to call: "Good luck," with a respectful salute. Don watched the brothers fight side-by-side, face shadowed. Only when the two turned to the door did he move, and they were blocked by many.

* * *

><p>Without even thinking Vorrina and I bolted into and through the grounds of the Menouthis temple, brandishing my seraph and Vorrina's new blade disks. I didn't think again as I sliced and cut all in my way, them not even knowing what hit them. Vorrina had picked up over 200 hundred disks from a hideout she and Don stashed things, and they were coming to good use. She pelted five stars under two seconds, all of them hitting their target perfectly and usually more than one subject. No bullets flew, and nothing was in our way.<p>

"Vorrina." She stopped. Why did that voice always have to interrupt us? "Come here, my darling," the sweetly hissing sound cooed. "Come to me, your father." All of the Amestrian soldiers, even the ones bleeding on the crumbled ground, scooted back to pick up their weapons as Vorrina dropped hers. I couldn't fight guns alone! How stupid could she be?

"No! Vorrina, he isn't your father. You can't trust him. Your father is dead. Dead!" I was forced to drop my seraph as the soldiers advanced. "Listen to me!" I gripped her by the shoulders, feeling the broken flesh and shuddering a little. "You can't give in to longing. You have to accept he is gone. Actually gone. You can't choose to go with him, you can't—"

Her face lifted as suddenly as her fist. She got me good and hard in the face. At first I hadn't known what happened. I was on my side, forehead hurting like hell. I tasted blood and saw the shadowed figure of my sister walking up to the shadow creature like the being she really was: Shadow.

"No! Vorrina, you can't—"

I was again cut off. By a gun shot.

A body fell. Smoke out of a barrel spread to the sky. "Nobody move," Hashimoto called to the military crowd. Vorrina looked up from where she had tripped on the gravel. Hashimoto held his gun high, keeping his eye on all as he passed. When he reached me he crouched. "Don't worry, I'll think of something." He winked at me, but only stayed for a moment. He strolled to the fallen Vorrina; why weren't they shooting? As I looked at their faces, they seemed mesmerized and tired. Tired of the constant fighting and gunfire. Tired of working for something they didn't even believe in.

'They are tired of all of this,' Truth said quietly.

"Yeah, I know." I swiveled myself to better see Vorrina and Hashimoto.

'Are you tired of it too?'

I didn't want to answer that.

"Vorrina," Hashimoto's voice was soft and tender as he caressed Vorrina's slender hand in his. "Do you really want to give in to madness? Do you really believe this creature, this monster that has hurt your friends, betrayed you, and held you captive all of these years to be your father? Do you honestly believe the dead still live?"

Vorrina tilted her head to her legs. "Well, I—"

"Would your _father_ really do those things? Any of those things?"

Vorrina shook her head, shedding water across all of the grey pebbles and rocks.

"No. No, my father would never do anything like that. He would never hurt me or my friends. And he especially would never confide me to a place as dark and sorry as I've always been.

"If he really was my father he'd tell me to do whatever it is that makes me happy, and never to look back. Not even if that meant leaving him behind. He always thought there was something in everything. Something that no one had ever seen before, and is what an adventure would unleash." Vorrina's voice grew stronger now. "My father would be ashamed of how ignorant I have become over these last years, and now it is time for me to make it up to him. I will not become ignorant again, and this time, shadow creature, I will best you. No matter what it takes. I will defeat the last of your memory, and never cease to remember my purpose. To always be different!"

"I could've said it better myself."

I stood to find my legs wobbly and head heavy as I looked to the incomer. "Edward…"

"I agree with everything you just said," Edward told the audience walking forward. Ebla's black arms twisted and turned in torment. His plans were crumbling right in his hands, before his eyes. "But, come on. Stop crying, will you?" Vorrina tried to smile, but her whole face went aglow once she heard Al.

"Don!" She stood as they ran, embracing each other in the middle.

"I'm so glad you're safe, Vorrina…" The two held hands, crying, laughing, happy. I loved watching them. But what was Edward thinking?

'_It's time,' _Truth's voice rang.

"_Now?"_

'Yes. If you and she leave right now you will both live.'

"We'll both _live_? That's comforting."

'Hurry and make that creature take you back before it's too late!'

"But I thought only Don could do it!"

"That's it," Ebla hissed. He shot faster than a cork at the woman in Don's arms. Both of them shrieked as Vorrina was torn free of his grasp, flaking blood all over.

General Hakuro's soldiers shot the orders the General gave, promoting death and destruction upon the shadow. Bullets flew everywhere, bullets went nowhere, people ran this way and that, bodies fell, Edward and Alphonse's metal fists pounded the earth and shadows below, Ebla keeping Vorrina high above their attempts of liberation the whole time. Weapons and blades were drawn to stop—the ones held in dead Kalki members' scabbards—and Don. Shadows slithered around the women he loved even tighter, soon in the clutches of the many black hands. Blood dripped from her limp body as Don fell lifeless on the ground while the same shadows went inside her. Her shadows.

'Think you should've left when I told you…?' the cruel voice of the Truth asked over deafening chaos.

I had nothing to say, and I had done nothing. 'Now look.'


	34. Yuruginai Shinrai

Chapter 34: _Yuruginai Shinrai _(Unbreakable Bonds)

"No… please… just tell me she isn't dead," I pleaded, taking in her still, bloody body sprawled across the stones after all of the shooting and fighting came to an end. "Tell me she isn't dead…"

Truth said nothing. Everyone watched Vorrina and me at the center of everything.

"TELL ME SHE ISN'T DEAD!" I commanded to the small, giggling creature inside me. I couldn't lose Vorrina again. Even if I had only found out she was my sister a week ago.

She _did _rise. But how?

There was a hole right through her stomach. There was no way she was…

"VORRINA!" Don scrambled to run to her side but stopped.

"Don…?" Her voice sounded weak. A drop of blood trickled down her chin.

Don stood without a movement. Something was in Vorrina's hand. Something shiny and long.

BAM!

"DON!"

They both fell.

"NO! PLEASE! DON!" I stood and ran to his side. The tiny hands that had been holding Vorrina up slid back to their master, leaving her on the ground gasping for breath as her blood bubbled.

"Don, please don't be dead. _Please._" I turned to Hashimoto. "Hashimoto, please, do something, _anything._" He gaped at me, eyes lost. "Please, you have to do something, you have to—"

"Nayru," Edward spoke out. "There's nothing we can do."

I didn't want to believe him, but I knew it to be true.

"No… there has to be… we can't—"

"You…" Don lifted a bloody hand to me. "Come here…"

I turned away from Edward to go back to Don.

"Please… help me up…"

"_What?_" My eyes grew large.

"Please. I know I'm the only one who can… Just help me up so I can fulfill my duty."

I nodded my head toward him in acknowledgment. "I will." He closed his eyes.

"Thank you…"

I squeezed his hand and slung it over my shoulder, trying to hide my feelings.

"You seem to have forgotten about me," Ebla jeered, swishing impatiently back and forth. "There is no way any of you can kill a homunculus. Even when all of you faced me together."

Don pushed me gently to let him stand on his own. "We may not be able to defeat you together or alone, but I can. I have something no one else does."

Ebla didn't say a word. He charged a mighty cluster of inky black arms at Don all at once, so none of us could stop him.

"DO—gack!" Vorrina crumpled back into the small, feeble form she had been earlier as Ebla sped past her. She looked up again, clasping her stomach. "DON! NO! GET OUT OF THE—"

He clapped his hands. Ebla reached him just as a spear of clear glow emerged from the ground. It was there he saw a perfect window of attack. As Ebla's largest arm reached him, mouth opened wide to devour, he stooped to bash the creature right in the chin. Ebla howled in agony. Don had struck him. Right into his soul.

"WHY?" Ebla's voice reechoed around his own distorted screams and cries. "HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE? I WAS TO BECOME THE RULER OF THE WORLD, THE MOST POWERFUL BEING OF ALL, AND I WAS KILLED BY SOME HUMAN AND HIS SWORD?" Ebla's smiles disappeared into thin mouths. His eyes bunched around the hole Don had made in him, and he lay rumpling under his own body's power.

"Wait a minute," I remembered what Truth had said. "No, wait, why did you do that? That means I can never get home, I can never—" Don looked back at me from the scene with forgiving eyes but only for a moment. The creature went on with its intent wailing, and finally let out one long howl. There was a rush of wind and a wave of many black, human-sized figures.

"Damn you, humans," the dozens of black pieces of Ebla whispered, their red eyes closed. "Damn you all…" And they were gone into the woods. Don walked to Vorrina. Edward, Alphonse, and I were quick to follow.

Don dropped on his knees next to the diamond spear he had made. He held Vorrina's hand, eyes getting soggy. Hashimoto and the rest watched with feeling, but not me.

"What did you just do? That was the only way for me to get home. That was my only chance of—"

"I'm sorry," Don said, but staring into the eyes of Vorrina as her hand was pressed against his cheek.

"Wh-what did you just do?" Edward picked up the diamond spear. "How did you do that?"

"I've always had some rare alchemy that's run in my family. We can control all elements most others can't—such as diamond and obsidian—without any training, spared that we can never preform the regular alchemy that you can. I'm the last member of my family with the gift. The rest of my family died many years ago when Amestris invaded Creta." Don looked down at Vorrina's wounds with misery and said, "I am sorry for destroying the very thing that would have gotten you home, but it was either me or him. Please accept my apology, even if it does nothing for you."

I tried not to hear the words. Was I trapped here forever? Would I never see my family again…?

"But there is a way," I reminded myself. Edward and Alphonse looked at me. "There is a way for me to get home."

"What are you talking about?" General Hakuro asked from the background. He was just asking the same question that was on everyone else's mind.

I marched myself to the very center of everyone, and looked at all of the faces. The ones of the confused and frightened Central soldiers with their captain, Major General Hakuro, the determined and understanding look in Hashimoto's eyes, the omniscient eyes of Alphonse. Even Don looked understanding, Vorrina with some longing, but Edward… he looked at me like I was leaving him to face the terrors of the world on his own. Leaving him to do everything by himself, leaving him to stay here in this world by himself.

I couldn't stand to look at him like that. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, hands out in front of me. As I focused my energy on myself, my own life force, I heard the swooshing sound of an opening below my ears. Many gasped.

"WAIT!"

There was a cough, and I opened my eyes to see Vorrina spray blood. She had wanted to come with me. To see Shamballa, the world of freedom, herself. But it was all hopeless now. She couldn't come with me, only I could go back the way I had come. I spread my chapped lips to speak, but someone else did. "WHERE ARE YOU GOING? YOU CAN'T LEAVE NOW!"

I was surprised to see Edward.

"I'm sorry." I spoke just above the sound of my own portal fighting to get out. "I can't stay here. You and I both know that." I tried to smile. "I'm sorry I can't stay here with you."

I couldn't see Edward's expression past the black and purplish wisps of smoke surrounding me, but I heard his last yell. "At least… at least tell me your name…"

I'm not sure if he heard me, but as soon as his face disappeared I felt someone's arms around me with the smell of bloody hair and a warm hold from one hand, the other, cold and steely. As I blinked back my tears, I saw the strands of hair tickling my nose were golden. I missed him already.

* * *

><p>I didn't even bother to open my eyes too far. I knew where I was. I knew who it was that was there with me; what was going to happen. "You sent for me?"<p>

The silent laughter of a greyish, faceless being sound around the empty setting as it stood. "I did, in fact."

"Before you send me back, please answer me this, why did you send me to Amestris in the first place?"

"You were supposed to be able to figure that out for yourself."

"I know," I said trying to drown him out. "Just tell me here and now so I won't be wondering for the rest of my life. So I won't be wondering why I was even taken to Amestris."

Truth smiled. "I sent you, because I knew Ebla was going back in time to destroy Amestris. But it wasn't that I cared for the people living there, oh no, time travel is something only _I'm _supposed to be able to do. He was violating my name, yet there was nothing I could do about it.

"When I remembered there was one woman who had passed through the gate to the other side as well, I knew _she_ could be the one to face him. But she had gotten older and frailer. So I chose her daughter." He pointed at me. "You." He moved back. "You were the only one who was different from all of the others; you were the only one who I knew would succeed. But I was wondering, what would make it so you would actually do what I want? Well, it's simple. I'd promise you something only a god could provide. _False feelings. _I got into your mind and tricked it into thinking I would give you your heart's desire. And now you will never be normal. You will always have that same empty feeling inside of you. You will stay different forever. You will stay alone."

"That's… what you were promising me the whole time…?" I couldn't believe it. I'd been expecting some harsh words from the Truth, but nothing like this… "You promised me if I did what you wanted I'd get what I wanted in the end…?" Tears stung my eyes as the words pounded in my ears, but I didn't even feel them as I looked up. "You promised me I'd get love…?" Truth smiled wider.

"So you would stay different forever." But his grin was gone as he said, "But now, you will have no memory of it at all. Now you won't even be able to remember any of this. I wish this is what I could've done to your mother, but now the rules have changed, and you will be _truly_ different from anyone else when you get back home. I'll grant you your _other _wish. And I'm sure you know what that is, though not the one to get home." He beamed again. "The one to know _everything._"

The swooshing sound was heard behind me as the gate opened. I stepped away not because I wanted to get away, I knew I wouldn't, but so I had enough time to say it. My last words to the 'World,' and to the two worlds it commanded.

"But I'm _not _different!" I screamed as the black hands pulled me into the gate. I held the sides of my portal to try and stop them from shutting in my face. "I'm no different from anyone else! We're all in this big game of life together!" I shook a prying hand off my cheek, making it scratch my face with its fingers. "We may all have our different stories, but deep down all of us are the same. All of us just want somewhere to call home, to keep our friends and families safe, to have a good life. We just want to be happy, to not have to worry about it. To live free, and never give up! To be the same, but always be different to the world! To always care about something!" I shoved at a hand on my arm as I pointed to Truth through the tight crevice of the door. "That's what the real truth is. So, what are you?"

The door slammed, but I caught the last look on Truth's face. It was almost as priceless as when Edward gave up his portal for Alphonse in the end. I couldn't help but smile. Even as all of my memories evaporated into the bright helix of information, as they were traded for the equivalent exchange, I couldn't help but have the feeling I had done well. I had done my best, and even if I was different, it had been enough…


	35. Indifferent

**Epilogue: Indifferent**

Dancing bears, painted wings

Things I almost remember

And a song someone sings

Once Upon a December

xxxxxx

Someone holds me safe and warm

Horses prance through a silver storm

Figures dancing gracefully

Across my memory

xxxxxx

Far away, long ago

Glowing dim as an ember

Things my heart used to know

Once Upon a December

xxxxxx

Someone holds me safe and warm

Horses prance through a silver storm

Figures dancing gracefully

Across my memory

xxxxxx

Far away, long ago

Glowing dim as an ember

Things my heart used to know

Things it yearns to remember

xxxxxx

And a song someone sings

Once Upon a December

* * *

><p>I stare across the infinite fields of my home many a day and wonder… why does it seem like I've been here before? It seems like there was this one place—I remember the smell of dewed grass, burned wood, hearing the spring and autumn birds singing—but… it was not here I perceived this. It was somewhere else. Somewhere far, far away, long, long ago. Where everything was peaceful, and there was always an adventure. I felt so calm there, and always complete; why didn't I feel that now?<p>

The thing I remembered the most was a person. This person, laughing, smiling, happy… but who were they? I couldn't even recall their face. I also remember me laughing, smiling, happy, with them, too, but I was also jealous…

It had been so long since I slept from that time. Last I awoke, I was in my bed, mother distraught as I told her I couldn't remember a thing about the last months. Not even that it was new year's eve, my birthday.

I sigh, also, often, and wonder. Why is there this feeling of emptiness inside me? Why do I feel incomplete?

The bare trees whiz past as the snow flurries of winter collide on the windshield of my mother's car as they always do, and there was something about her as well. Even though I'm sure she knew what it was, she wouldn't tell me. All she said was I was different from the last time she had seen me, like I'd been swapped with a twin…

'Had it all been a dream?' That was the question I asked myself every day, and I found myself always answering, 'but whatever it was, it felt much more real than just a dream…' That's when I look down to my knees and the color of red catches my eye. On my sweatshirt, my favorite one, I see the many specks of dry blood on my chest, and my hair does not shawl my shoulders—it's much too short. I had had never cut my hair before in my life, and even my mother told me so. Now five lines scar my face, like a sharp, desperate hand groped my face. Where was it from? What world? This one? Or one completely different…?

* * *

><p>Hashimoto Yearu returned to his home country knowing he could not stay in Amestris without being forced to serve the military. The Major General and all of his troops gave up their posts in Central City and now work in New Optain, secretly helping all others opposing the military, and Don… is always found in the graveyard, weeping over a grave without a name, none by his side and none to return to.<p>

He waits for his time to face Ebla from the past in the future, but he shall not come. If you kill a beast in one time, it will not appear again for the rest of eternity. He lives a good life, quietly helping the smart and knowing militants to take down the Führer and his followers with Hakuro, but missing the one he loves.

He has not gotten over her, he has not found another, he will never love again. He won't even speak to the Fullmetal Alchemist and his brother because it reminds him too much of her. Every whisper, hiss, and shadow reminds him of her. His precious, Vorrina.

The pieces of Ebla that blast all directions at that scene followed Hashimoto to Aerugo looking for something that might help them unite again, but they will only live for another year or so before they eventually die off, and have barely any conscience now.

And with that, I believe it is time to conclude this story. Oh, but the Fullmetal Alchemist…? He goes on with completing his story, just as Nayru does with hers. There is nothing more for me, the Truth, to tell you.

Keep living your story the way you wish, but never forget to stay to the right one. If you just do exactly what you heart desires, if you would only listen to what you _truly _want, you will find that everything is right in your reach. It is always there for you to grasp, and all you need to do is just keep it there.

Stay true to your heart, and always, stay different.

* * *

><p>"You're willing to cast it aside? To lower yourself to a simple human?" the Truth asked with glee he could not contain within his own amusement.<p>

"What do you mean lower myself?" Edward asked as he stared at the portal behind him. "That's the only thing I've ever been. Just a simple human who couldn't save a little girl, not even with alchemy…"

And as Edward thought, was it really Nina that he was thinking about? Maybe it was Winry. Or was it the first little girl he had not been able to save? The one he had never learned the name of. The only one who was different from the others, who knew who he really was. Not the Fullmetal Alchemist, but Edward. Edward Elric, the foolish little boy who had attempted human transmutation, yet made it so it didn't matter to her. The only one he truly loved, and could never have.

He faced the Truth with sincere smile. "Who even needs alchemy when I have them?"

Truth's smile grew bigger. "You've done it! That's the right answer!"

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: Thank Hiromu Arakawa for Fullmetal Alchemist and Deana Carter for the song, not me. But I did write this whole story, so you can thank me for that.<strong>

**Special thanks to ShadowNinja1011 for giving me the great idea for this story in the first place, my friends Rima Elric and Vee for helping me the whole way, again to Rima Elric for not letting me give up even when I doubted myself, and to you, all of my faithful readers, writers, and reviewers for giving me so many kind words. Thank you all again. I cannot thank you enough. Oh, and one more thing, to my sister for reading behind my back, even when I told her not to.**

**The end**


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